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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25921531">Danganronpa V-Fill--II</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroseandapen/pseuds/aroseandapen'>aroseandapen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fills From Tumblr [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, M/M, also OC ships, check notes of each chapter for specific warnings, platonic ships also featured, ships and such will be updated as more fills are posted</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:49:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>74,018</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25921531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroseandapen/pseuds/aroseandapen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A set of prompt fills and requests from my Tumblr that I did throughout 2019, dropped here into a neat little package.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akamatsu Kaede/Amami Rantaro, Akamatsu Kaede/Chabashira Tenko/Iruma Miu/Yumeno Himiko, Akamatsu Kaede/Hoshi Ryoma, Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Akamatsu Kaede/Momota Kaito, Akamatsu Kaede/Oma Kokichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Tojo Kirumi, Amami Rantaro/Oma Kokichi, Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki, Chabashira Tenko/Momota Kaito, Chabashira Tenko/Tojo Kirumi, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Gokuhara Gonta/Iruma Miu, Harukawa Maki/Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu/Momota Kaito, Iruma Miu/Oma Kokichi, Iruma Miu/Saihara Shuichi, Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi, Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Saihara Shuichi/Yumeno Himiko, Shinguji Korekiyo/Tojo Kirumi, Yonaga Angie/Yumeno Himiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fills From Tumblr [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>392</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. {Oumaede} A game of chase, punctuated with a kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: “We can’t do this” kisses 4 oumaede whenever you feel to~</p><p>It's not really quite “we can’t do this” kisses but oh well</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A game of chase somehow ended with the two of them tucked into a stray corner, Kokichi’s back pressed against the wall with Kaede’s arms caging him in. Not that it was an effective cage. If he wasn’t out of breath, he could easily slip under her arms and get away. He’d let her catch him like this, and they both knew it.</p><p>“You… are… so…”</p><p>Kaede huffed with every word, proving just how out of shape she was. She didn’t finish her statement, dipping her head to rest her forehead against his. Kokichi would never know what he was ‘so’ of.</p><p>He squirmed, unsure how he felt about the physical contact. “Wow, Kaede smells bad.”</p><p>“Huh?” Her eyelashes fluttered as she met his eyes. She began to move away from him. “Do I? I didn’t think–.”</p><p>The moment he lost the physical contact, he wanted it back again. “That was a lie. You smell just as girly as ever! It’s a little sickening actually.”</p><p>She pouted at him. “You’re a jerk, you know that?”</p><p>He wondered how she would react if he kissed her then, right on those pouty lips. Would she gasp and move away? Slap him? Maybe kiss him back? The latter made him almost laugh out loud at the thought. As if <em>that</em> would happen.</p><p>“Kokichi? Are you ok?”</p><p>Suddenly the mouth he’d been staring out was so much closer. He squeaked in surprise–actually <em>squeaked</em>–and pressed back against the wall. “Geez! You scared me, Kaede! You look so <em>scawy</em> and mean, I feel like you’re gonna beat me up and leave me to die in a ditch!”</p><p>Good, cover it up with crocodile tears and over-exaggeration. That’d work. Unfortunately, instead of moving back, Kaede stayed right where she was, but her confusion was palpable.</p><p>“What are you talking about? I’m just–.”</p><p>Alright, time for plan B. Which he didn’t have one, so he made it up on the spot, and of course because of his <em>impulse</em> and <em>logic</em>, he stood up on his toes and gave her a dramatic, lip-smacking smooch right on her lips.</p><p>Kaede’s jaw dropped. Kokichi decided it was time to go <em>right now</em>.</p><p>“Just kidding! Anyway, I’m bored, so I’m gonna go bother someone else now, see you!”</p><p>Not his most graceful exit, but an exit it had been nonetheless. He could deal with Kaede wanting to talk about <em>feelings</em> and other gross things later, once he ran out of interesting places to hide. Hopefully he could keep it up for the rest of their lives. Yeah. That’ll definitely work.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. {Platonic Kaede+Kaito} Two guys happen to give her a spook today</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: "Just because you can do this by yourself doesn’t mean you should have to." with momomatsu?</p><p>It’s not really momomatsu and I didn’t actually use the quote prompt in this, but it was heavily based off of it, since I was talking about a timeloop earlier. Not a Kaito timeloop but… oh well.</p><p>Kaito tries to stop the first trial’s outcome.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh hey! Where’re you guys going?”</p><p>Kaede jumped when Kaito’s voice came out of nowhere, and she whirled around to face him. He placed his hands on his hips, a little slouched as his chest heaved in an attempt to catch his breath. She wondered why he was so winded. From trying to catch up to them?</p><p>Shuichi looked down at the ground, the position shielding his eyes with the bill of his hat. She took it upon herself to answer him, although everything so far was Shuichi’s plan. “We’re going to the storage room. Going to see what we can find that might be useful, you know? With the time limit and everything?”</p><p>She avoided giving out any details, however. That they were searching for cameras and other things so that Miu might be able to modify them for their purposes of catching the Mastermind on film. Which wouldn’t be enough, she knew. Kaede planned on going a step further, to ensure that the Mastermind wouldn’t be able to hurt any of them. For good.</p><p>Yet she needn’t have bothered answering at all. Kaito nodded along, but his expression was distant, his eyes looking elsewhere. “Cool, cool,” he said with the voice of someone who hadn’t listened. Then, suddenly, he grabbed Kaede’s wrist. “Hey, can I talk to you real quick?”</p><p>“Can you–? Hey, wait!” Kaede cried out as Kaito barely waited for her answer, already turned and walking away, dragging her after him.</p><p>“It’s just for a quick second!” he insisted, apparently unwilling to take no for an answer.</p><p>“<em>Geez</em>.” Kaede threw a look over her shoulder. “Go ahead without me, Shuichi! I’ll be there soon!”</p><p>“Yeah! We’ll be right back, Shuichi, promise!” Kaito said, grinning back as well, and Kaede was absolutely baffled.</p><p>What in the world could Kaito possibly want right now, with the time ticking down ever closer to their deaths?</p><p>“<em>Kaito</em>.” Kaede dug her heels in, refusing to allow herself to be dragged away anymore. She had a sudden, dreadful feeling. The thought occurred to her that Kaito was trying to get her alone on purpose. “What do you want? Shuichi’s going to be waiting for me, you know.” She yanked on her hand. “Let <em>go</em>.”</p><p>“Oh right, yeah. Sorry.” Kaito released her wrist, and she pulled it back to her chest. “I didn’t hurt you or anything, right? I really just wanted to talk.”</p><p>She stared at him, rubbing her wrist. In truth, it hadn’t hurt, but she didn’t appreciate being pulled around without knowing someone’s intentions. So instead of answering, she cut through straight to the point. “Seriously, what’s up with you?”</p><p>“I know what you’re planning.”</p><p>Those words froze her in place.</p><p>“Huh?” She stared, mouth dropped open in confusion. Her mind immediately jumped to her plan, but she discarded that quickly. There was no way he <em>could</em> know about that one, since she hadn’t even told Shuichi about it. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“Don’t ask how I know, but I know you’re planning on trying to kill the Mastermind before the time limit is up.”</p><p>Kaede inhaled, about to speak, but she couldn’t find her voice. He knew. How? There was no way that anyone could know her plans, and yet he confronted her about them directly–impossible information. She wanted to ask how, but that would confirm that he was right when he could very well be bluffing. So she swallowed back the confusion and wiped the shock from her expression and did her best to answer without her voice trembling.</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mastermind? What’s that even supposed to mean?” she said, bemusement complete with a nervous laugh.</p><p>“Dammit, Kaede, why do you gotta be so stubborn?”</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he turned his face away. He pressed his lips together, jaw clenched. When he looked back to her, the watery appearance of his eyes made Kaede’s heart stop in shock.</p><p>“I know what you’re planning. You’re gonna go into that storage room, find a weapon–a shotput ball–and you’re gonna set it all up so you can kill the Mastermind, but it’s not gonna work. They <em>know</em>. They’ve got… something to watch us. Cameras somewhere, I don’t know where, but they’ve got them. You’re just gonna end up executed and I don’t want to <em>see</em> that, Kaede!”</p><p>Dread and familiarity rose up in her chest; a thick lump formed in her throat. She swallowed around it, but it refused to go away. Kaede couldn’t see a hint of falsehood in the teary, heart-filled speech Kaito just gave her, and it did nothing to assuage her uneasiness. She stepped back away from him. He had to be insane or something. That was the only explanation for this.</p><p>“I have to go, Shuichi’s still waiting for me and there’s not much time,” she mumbled out quickly.</p><p>“<em>Kaede</em>–,” he began, but she wasn’t listening anymore.</p><p>“I’ll talk to you later, see you.”</p><p>Shaking her head, she turned and hurried back the way they’d come. Kaito didn’t try and stop her, but still she ran. Even the few minutes it took to get to the storage area was much too long; she couldn’t wait to be inside and with someone <em>sane</em> beside her.</p><p>“Kaede?” Shuichi looked over at her, perhaps surprised with how winded and shaky she seemed upon entering the warehouse.</p><p>“Man, Kaito sure likes to run,” she said, jumping on the first excuse she could think of. She laughed, crossing the room to join him. “Now, did you find anything yet?”</p><p>Shuichi shook his head, and turned back to the shelves he was searching. “No, this place is pretty large. I could really use the help.”</p><p>“Of course! I’ll just be checking right over here…”</p><p>Yet as Kaede helped Shuichi in his search, what Kaito said to her stuck with her. They might just be the ramblings of someone unstable, surely, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there might be some truth to them after all. Would the Mastermind really not have something to observe them as they wandered the school looking for a way out? Monokuma always seemed to know where they were too…</p><p>She found a set of shotput balls. Glancing around to make sure that Shuichi wasn’t watching, she picked one of them up. Heavy. If dropped from a high enough place, it might be enough to kill someone with.</p><p>
  <em>“You’re gonna go into that storage room, find a weapon–a shotput ball–and you’re gonna set it all up so you can kill the Mastermind, but it’s not gonna work.”</em>
</p><p>Kaede closed her eyes and shook her head. Silly. She was just worrying too much over anything. She <em>had</em> to do something…</p><p>“Oh Kaede, I found… what are you doing over here?”</p><p>She started at Shuichi’s voice. “Geez, you scared me! I’m not doing anything, just looking… did you say you found something?”</p><p>Kaede let the shotput ball roll out of her hands to hit the floor. Maybe she was too superstitious, but she’d have to find another way.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. {Kaerumi} Heated Kisses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kirumi turns on the heat with Kaede, medium-high, for about fifteen minutes.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for sexual content</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>“<em>I have a surprise for when you get back</em>.”</p>
  <p>Kaede almost groaned at the low purr of Kirumi’s voice in her ear, carrying promises of pleasure on her whispered words. She hated that the voice came through the receiver of her phone and that Kirumi wasn’t right by her side, because Kaede didn’t think that she could wait one more second.</p>
  <p>Unfortunately she had to. She couldn’t exactly abandon her cart full of groceries for the next few weeks just to rush home in the hopes of ravaging her girlfriend, no matter how incredibly gorgeous and alluring said girlfriend was. And so she stayed in the line, waiting impatiently for each person ahead of her to get checked out by a cashier who seemed to be moving at the pace of a snail on a lazy day. She huffed, grumbling to herself under her breath. Normally she was more patient, so of course on the day that she desperately wanted to rush home she’d get stuck in the Slow Line of Hell.</p>
  <p>Eventually though, she finally, <em>finally</em> managed to get her groceries bagged and paid for, and packed away in the trunk of her car without any further obstacles. She even managed to keep herself within the speed limit–getting a traffic ticket might not be the greatest mood-enhancer, she figured.</p>
  <p>She got home and took in all the groceries with one trip, arms laden with heavy bags hanging off the both of them. The front door nearly defeated her, with the prospect of setting everything down just to pick them up again highly unappealing. Fortunately she worked it out, turning the knob with the tips of her fingers. The bolt inside slid open, and she nudged the door inside with her foot.</p>
  <p>“I’m home, Rumi!” she called as she lugged the bags through to the kitchen. Dropping the bags off on the tile floor came as a relief to her. She sighed heavily, leaning against the counter and rubbing the indentations left by the handles.</p>
  <p>“Welcome home. I’ve been waiting for your return.”</p>
  <p>Kaede turned at the sound of Kirumi’s voice, and immediately choked on air at the sight.</p>
  <p>“Do you like it?”</p>
  <p>Did she? <em>Yes</em>, Kaede liked it very much. Almost too much, a red lacy lingerie set that she hadn’t known Kirumi even owned. The halter-type bralette encircled Kirumi’s neck like a choker, color stunning against her soft skin, the intricate design of the lace sheer. Kaede’s eyes caught on the sight of Kirumi’s lovely, dark nipples through the lace before travelling on downward.</p>
  <p>She must’ve been staring, gaping, for too long, because Kirumi cleared her throat, shifting away from the door frame she’d been leaning against. “Is it too much? I guess it is, isn’t it? If it makes you uncomfortable I can go change.”</p>
  <p>“No!” Kaede said, much too quickly. She tried to recover, swallowing and licking her now too-dry lips. “Y-you look really good. <em>Really</em> good.”</p>
  <p>The worry in Kirumi’s expression vanished at her assurances, melting into a pleased smile. “Good. I’m always so happy to please you.”</p>
  <p>Heat began to coil in her stomach. “Y-yeah…?”</p>
  <p>“Here, let me help you put the groceries away.” Kirumi didn’t answer her, purposefully brushing Kaede’s side as she moved past her to get to the bags. She set about putting things away, as she said she’d do, bending down to pick up each bag from the floor and set it on the counter.</p>
  <p>Kaede could only watch, the panties tantalizingly hugging Kirumi’s hips. Her fingers itched to trace over those curves, and dip her fingers into the elastic waistband as she dragged the underwear off of her. She bit her lip, thinking of pressing her lips to the bare skin Kirumi was showing off this evening, more than she’d ever seen in anything but their more intimate moments.</p>
  <p>She couldn’t take it.</p>
  <p>The moment the last perishable item had been put away, Kaede closed in. She slipped her arms around Kirumi’s waist as she turned, pressing her back against the fridge with her own body.</p>
  <p>“I can’t wait, you’re just so…”</p>
  <p>Kirumi’s lips twitched. “I can’t believe you lasted so long.”</p>
  <p>That was all that was said between them before their lips clashed together, their enthusiasm for the kiss matched. Kirumi tugged at Kaede’s clothes until their bodies were flush. She slipped a leg in between Kaede’s, pressing her thigh up into Kaede’s crotch.</p>
  <p>“Kirumi…” She broke the kiss to breath out her girlfriend’s name, grinding against her upper leg.</p>
  <p>“Yes, Kaede?”</p>
  <p>Moving her lips to Kirumi’s neck, she mouthed at the circle of fabric pressed lightly against her skin. She reveled in the soft gasp that escaped her. “I love you so much.”</p>
  <p>“I love you too.”</p>
  <p>“I <em>want</em> you.”</p>
  <p>Kirumi moved to grind back down onto Kaede’s leg as well. “I want you too, sweetheart.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. {Amamatsu} An Invitation to Dance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I just saw a beautiful amamatsu fanart, and nnnnrrrgh-- my poor Heart! &lt;3 &lt;3 Whenever you got time, can you please write a slowdance prompt with my babies? Thx &lt;3</p><p>Kaede invites Rantaro out for a dance.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Whew, there’s a lot of people here tonight. I’m exhausted from dancing so much,” Kaede said, dropping into the empty seat beside Rantaro. She’d been about to sit out for a song or two, and headed over the moment she saw his familiar face.</p><p>“There are. It’s a lively party,” he agreed with her.</p><p>She wiped away some sweat beading on her forehead with the back of her hand. After the last couple hours, Kaede was glad for the intricate up-do her hair had been pinned into. It left the back of her neck open to the nice breeze of air conditioning that wafted through the building. Otherwise her entire face would burn from exertion, and her hair would cling to wet, sweaty skin to annoy her all night.</p><p>“I haven’t seen you out there very much,” she commented, looking him up and down. He looked handsome in a well-tailored suit, but he wasn’t even a little out of breath.</p><p>“It’s not really my thing.”</p><p>She tilted her head. “Why not?”</p><p>“Guess I haven’t found someone I want to dance with yet.” His eyes met hers and held them. They softened, warm and affectionate, and Kaede felt her heart beat a little faster.</p><p>Suddenly she stood, smoothing down her dress and swinging around to face him. She held a hand out to him.</p><p>“Well, then you can dance with me!” she said before she could lose the nerve.</p><p>Just then the song changed, from the bright and fast beat tempo to a slow, intimate song. Kaede sucked in a sharp breath, heat that wasn’t from dancing creeping into her cheeks. She’d only offered as a friend–a friend with a huge, dumb crush on the strikingly handsome Rantaro. Now it seemed like something more, offering to take him out on the floor for a couple’s dance. He probably thought that she was coming off too strong or something.</p><p>Kaede began to withdraw her hand, prepared to apologize. Before she could, however, Rantaro took it. He stood as well, stepping in close so that she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. The warmth in his eyes hadn’t faded. He gazed down at her as if she was the entire world at the moment.</p><p>She resisted the urge to squirm, simultaneously pleased and overwhelmed with the intensity of his gaze.</p><p>“I’d love to dance with you, Kaede.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The beginning of 2019 sure was heavy on the Kaede requests</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. {Saimota} How to take care of your sleepwalker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: “Apparently you’re a sleepwalker.” - Saimota, I can totally imagine Kaito as a sleepwalker but maybe Shuichi would be more funny</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito woke up with his face pressed into the table, arms flopped down at his sides with a blanket draped uneasily over his shoulders. He straightened, letting the blanket slip off the edge of his chair, and groaned at the cramps in his arms and the ache in his spine. Although he didn’t remember falling asleep at the kitchen table, apparently he had, and his body hurt for it.</p><p>“Oh. You’re awake.”</p><p>“Shuichi, hey. Morning.” He brought a hand to his face, tiredly dragging it across his features. “What the hell happened last night? How’d I get here?”</p><p>After all, he clearly remembered the night before. He’d decided to stay over with Shuichi, after their in-house date reached the AM hours and it stopped making sense for Kaito to make the trek back to his place. When he fell asleep, he’d been in Shuichi’s bed, arm draped over his boyfriend and a blanket wrapped around them both. A far cry from how he’d woken up.</p><p>Shuichi dragged a chair over to him. The squeal of the legs across the floor made him wince, though thankfully the sound was short-lived, and soon Shuichi was seated next to him. He reached over and rested a hand on Kaito’s head, threading his fingers through his hair. They briefly snagged on a few knots, but he quickly adjusted.</p><p>“Apparently you’re a sleepwalker,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh that hinted at a long previous night.</p><p>“What? No way, I’ve never sleepwalked before in my life!”</p><p>Shuichi’s hand slipped out of his hair and too his shoulder. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand. “Well, you did last night. I just barely managed to keep you from marching right out into the street in your underwear. I couldn’t get you back to bed, though…”</p><p>Kaito winced at the brief account. It’d be humiliating to know that he’d gone out in the middle of the night wearing only boxers, with Shuichi begging for him to wake up.</p><p>“Geez, for real? You’re not joking?” He had to make sure, just in case.</p><p>Shuichi shook his head. “No. I decided to leave you here after I couldn’t wake you up, and I just put a blanket over you instead. I slept on the couch, actually, because I was worried you’d start walking again.”</p><p>A smile tugged at Kaito’s lips. He should probably feel guilty about pushing Shuichi out of his bed and onto the couch, yet…</p><p>He leaned over, softly kissing Shuichi’s forehead. “Thanks, Shu, I really appreciate you taking care of me.”</p><p>Any lingering discomfort melted into a warm smile. Shuichi closed his eyes and tipped his head back, pressing his lips against Kaito’s. When he pulled back, he hummed in contentment, unable to suppress his doting smile.</p><p>“I’d say anytime but… please don’t make this a habit,” he said, a hint of pleading in his voice despite his joking tone.</p><p>Kaito chuckled, kissing Shuichi again in apology. “Yeah. Won’t happen again. Or, well, I’ll <em>try</em> not to do it again. No promises.”</p><p>“Right, of course.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. {Oumaede} Sometimes scales just be something you gotta deal with while dating a mermaid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 48. Please say this is real. / Oumaede bc I'm a sadist &lt;3</p><p>It’s another mermaid au, how unprecedented.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Waves gently push at her towards the shore, but in the secure waters of the cove it’s not nearly as bad as outside of them. The rocky outcropping at her side keeps her in place as well, though a strong wave might cause her to tear her skin open along the sharp rocks.</p><p>Fortunately in the protected waters, with a merman settled against her between her legs, she feels too safe for something like that to ever be a possibility in her mind.</p><p>Said merman presses his forehead against hers, his breath warm as it ghosts over her lips. They’re red and swollen with the evidence of their kissing, and his glisten as well. She licks her lips, and wishes that they’d hurry and get back to it, but they both need a moment to catch their breath.</p><p>Her eyes sweep over Kokichi’s face, his scales in patches across his skin, and delicate fins laying flat against the sides of his face. They flutter in response to some feeling of his when her chest heaves in deep breath, pressing against his bare torso. Embarrassment? Something… else?</p><p>Can mermaids feel that something else? This all seems too unreal–she’s spent the last half hour kissing a <em>mermaid</em>, something which shouldn’t exist. Suddenly she’s anxious, wrapping her arms around his waist.</p><p>“Please say this is real,” she whispers, as if it’ll break some illusion if she speaks too loudly.</p><p>He kisses her again, and the press of his lips to hers, the warmth of the inside of his mouth, all certainly feel real.</p><p>“Geez, you’re always calling me a liar and now you want me to tell you something like this? Make up your mind.”</p><p>“You are a liar,” she says, and squeezes him. Then she winces as the scales slice along her skin. She quickly pulls her arms back, tiny cuts down her arms where she’d been holding him. “Ah man, not again…”</p><p>“You tell me, Kaede.” Kokichi takes one of her arms, pressing his lips to it. The skin tingles and itches, and when he pulls away there’s barely a few thin lines where the cuts had been. He takes her other arm. “Does this feel real to you?”</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. {Platonic Gonta+Angie} *writes a tickle fight prompt with no tickling*</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 24. ‘Tickle fight!’ + Gonta and Angie</p><p>I’m uncomfortable with writing/reading tickling in most cases, so this drabble doesn’t involve any actual tickling.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Nya-haha! I’ve caught you!” Angie announced brightly, pouncing on the gentle giant that was Gonta.</p><p>“Oh!” Gonta seemed surprised, but gave her a good-natured smile anyway. He didn’t seem bothered by her clinging to his arm, even as she hung with her feet picked up off of the ground. “Hello, Angie, how are you doing?”</p><p>“I am great as always! Atua has blessed me with great luck today!” She kicked her feet a bit before she dropped back down from his arm, smoothing out her smock. “Unfortunately, I’ve gotten bored, so I decided that you’ll be the one to entertain me today.”</p><p>She’d pulled a paintbrush from her pocket and used it to point in Gonta’s direction. Her expression held an eerie smile on it that would unnerve most people that she approached. Not Gonta, however. His own grin didn’t diminish in the slightest–in fact, he seemed even brighter at her request, standing a little straighter.</p><p>“Of course, Gonta would be honored! What would Angie like to do?” he asked, ever the gentleman.</p><p>“Glad you asked. Hmmm…” She pressed the same paintbrush used to point against her lips, trailing it absently over her mouth. When the idea hit her, she pulled it away and dropped it into her pocket. “Ah-ha! I’ve got it! Let’s have a tickle fight!”</p><p>Angie stepped towards him, hands raised and fingers wiggling threateningly. A panicked look crossed Gonta’s face, and he quickly stepped away from her.</p><p>“Uh! Actually…!” Gonta raised his hands, as if to fend her off. His negative body language stopped Angie in her tracks. “Gonta doesn’t like being… tickled… Sorry!”</p><p>“Oh, I see.” Disappointed, Angie let her hands drop down to her sides. Then the paintbrush was out again and against her lips. “Hmmm, well in that case…”</p><p>Without warning, Angie leaped forward, closing the distance between them. Before Gonta could react, she slapped a hand against his forearm, then hopped away again. She spun on her heel, and with light steps she took off running. She only looked back once, to call over her shoulder, then raced onward.</p><p>“Tag, you’re it! Nyahaha!”</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. {Platonic Kaito+Twins AU} Getting to the bottom of things</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Magic/Witch AU, where Kaito wants to know what’s going on with Kokichi and his brother.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The twins disappear sometimes, Kaito notices. There’s not many places to hide in the small town and although the forest surrounding it is known for being dangerous, he doesn’t see where else they could go. He doesn’t get why either. Kokichi and Kurochi are so small that their arms could probably snap under the slightest duress. So where are the twins going, and why?</p><p>He questions it aloud once to Shuichi, taking a break from situps to stare up at the sky. Clouds drift by, the kind that look like they’re soft to the touch. Shuichi’s still at it, and at first his only answer is the grunt of acknowledgement as Shuichi lifts himself off the ground again.</p><p>Then he collapses onto his back, flinging his arms out to either side. After he’s caught his breath, Shuichi says, “I think it’s better if we don’t know.”</p><p>“Huh? Why?” The answer honestly surprises Kaito. Shuichi has an almost insatiable curiosity for things under his timidity. “What if they’re up to no good? Again,” he adds, grimacing as he thinks about the glittery nightmare of the last prank.</p><p>For such a tiny pair, the twins get up to a lot of mischief.</p><p>Shuichi pauses. “I think… I don’t know, there’s something about this that I don’t like. I don’t think it’s something that we should put our noses into.”</p><p>That answers nothing. Kaito shakes his head and writes it off as Shuichi letting his anxiety get the better of him. “Whatever you say, man. Anyway! Time for pushups! Let’s shoot for five hundred of them this time.”</p><p>Shuichi chokes on air. “Fi-<em>five</em>?!”</p><p>“Come on, Shuichi, get a move on! I’ll start counting!”</p><p>(Between the two of them, they come pretty close to a hundred of those pushups.)</p><hr/><p>“Hah? What’re you so interested in that twink for anyway? What, you wanna find out how to get in his pants or something? Got a hankering for his little pencil dick?”</p><p>Asking Miu about Kokichi turns out to be a huge mistake. Kaito always forgets how vulgar she can be, how little shame she has in saying things like this, until he’s committed to a conversation with her.</p><p>“No! <em>Fuck</em> no, I was just asking a question!” Holy <em>shit</em>. “Is no one in this entire town curious about what the hell kind of trouble those two get up to when they disappear for some reason?”</p><p>“If you ask me, I bet they’re communing with the devil or some shit. That’s what witches do, right? They go off to some secluded area and fuck the devil?” Despite the ludicrous subject of her words, Miu looks completely serious. “I bet the devil is a shitty fuck anyway.”</p><p>“Who said they were witches?” He frowns. Not to mention that he doesn’t think that’s part of being a witch, but he doesn’t say that. Maybe Miu is right, maybe she’s not. Kaito hopes that she’s not. “That’s kinda a serious accusation.”</p><p>Miu shrugs. “Is it? Who the fuck cares? It’s not like we’re allowed to burn those fuckers anymore, and no one’s about to throw those guys into the flames either. They’re weird enough to be witches anyway, don’t you think?”</p><p>“If anyone’s weird enough for that, it’s you,” he grumbles.</p><p>“What did you say?”</p><p>“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” That’s not something he wants to get into right now. “So they didn’t say anything to you at all about where the hell they go all the time?”</p><p>“No, why would he do that?” she asks, to which Kaito shrugs.</p><p>“Kokichi just hangs around here a lot so I thought maybe…?”</p><p>“Listen, if you wanna know so bad, stop acting like a freak and just ask one of <em>them</em> already. Or if you’re too chickenshit to do that, then stalk him or something, I don’t care. I was busy doing something, so if you don’t mind… could you fuck off for a bit so I can do that?”</p><p>“Sure. Fine, whatever.” Kaito can see when his inquiries have hit a wall, and he knows that he won’t get much more from Miu like this.</p><p>Witches, though… there’s no way it’s something like that.</p><hr/><p>Regardless of Miu’s suggestion, Kaito refuses to literally stalk the twins to find out what mischief they’re up to whenever they disappear. He’ll ask them directly, and cut through any bullshit story they might tell him.</p><p>As it turns out, he doesn’t need to do even that much.</p><p>The start of the new week finds him out in the forest, not far from the town. There’s a tree with low-hanging branches, perfect for climbing or doing pull-ups on as part of his training routine. He’s there now, as the sun begins to set and his surroundings grow darker beneath the thick canopy above. Kaito hangs off the branch and drops, landing lightly on the ground. It’s about time for him to head back; hanging out in the forest at night is never a good idea.</p><p>Just as he’s about to leave, however, he hears a commotion not too far off. He freezes, listening. It’s… a voice, like a quiet murmur, but that might only be because it’s somewhere far away. That doesn’t stop the chill from running down his spine.</p><p>He’s heard stories about ghosts in the forest before. People get lost and they die, and their spirits are said to still walk among the overgrowth in search of shelter. It can’t be real, but his mind fixates on the possibility that it somehow is. He should make haste in getting back home.</p><p>A loud crack shoots through the trees, bringing him to a stop. It’s followed by a shriek of alarm–then nothing. Kaito whips around, staring in the direction of the noise as dread washes over him. He wants to sprint for home, but the thought that someone had just gotten hurt froze him in place.</p><p>“Dammit. <em>Dammit</em>.” Muttering to himself, he turns and heads for the direction of the noise.</p><p>He stumbles and nearly trips over a tree root, and a low-hanging branch whips him in the face, but that doesn’t stop him as he crashes through the underbrush in pursuit of the scream he heard. That’ll definitely leave a mark.</p><p>Then he bursts into a clearing further into the forest, and the sight stops him dead.</p><p>“Are you ok, Rochi?” It’s Kokichi, turned away from Kaito with one arm thrown around his brother. The other is held out, with something in his hand.</p><p>“Y-yeah, I didn’t think that spell–.” Kurochi spies him over Kokichi’s shoulder and chokes on his words.</p><p>“Rochi? What’s wrong?” Kokichi partially turns. His eyes meet Kaito’s, and fear darts across his face. It’s brief, quickly replaced with a blank mask, but he drops the unmistakable length of wood in his hand.</p><p>The moment it hits the ground, the glowing beam connecting it to a sizable tree branch floating in the air disappears, and it falls with a thud. Kaito’s gaze follows it, eyes widened. A wand–that thing’s an actual witch’s magic wand.</p><p>“Hey! What’re you doing here?” Kokichi jumps to his feet, dragging his attention from the wand to his pouting face. “Are you <em>following</em> us?”</p><p>“What? No! I just heard a scream and I thought–.”</p><p>Kaito’s unable to get the rest of his explanation out, cut off by a loud wail from Kokichi. Tears that must be fake spill from his eyes.</p><p>“Waaaaahhh, I can’t believe Kaito’s stalking me and my brother! What are you gonna do to us, you creepy pervert? Are you gonna murder us while there’s no one around?” The look is complete with a wobble of Kokichi’s lower lip. There’s even a hint of what seems to be genuine fear in his eyes… misdirected maybe?</p><p>Still, the accusation riles him up. He clenches his fists, snapping, “I am <em>not</em> stalking you! I got worried about the crack and screaming I heard and I came to see what it was. I didn’t even <em>know</em> it was you guys here!”</p><p>And he’s steering Kaito away from what he’s seen, Kaito realizes with a start. The wand is still on the ground, and the dramatic display of tears Kokichi puts on draws his attention away from it. He shakes his head and refocuses.</p><p>“Never mind that–you two are witches! I had no idea you guys did magic, is that why you’re always disappearing?”</p><p>The tears vanish once Kokichi sees that his crying is ineffective. Instead he pouts and crosses his arms. “What? Are you crazy? What sort of witch lets themselves get caught when there’s plenty of people in that town who’d like to burn them alive?”</p><p>Yet although Kokichi puts on a good act, Kaito sees Kurochi’s eyes widen in shocked fear and he knows that he’s not just seeing things.</p><p>“Right… hey! If you guys are witches, then I want to learn too! You guys can teach me to do magic too, right?”</p><p>Both of the twins blink, identical blank expressions on their faces.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Kokichi crosses his arms, doubt creeping into his eyes. “Seriously? After I just told you how much people will want you to die a slow, painful death? I think you really are crazy.”</p><p>“So is that a yes?”</p><p>He puffs out his cheek and shares a look with Kurochi. Kaito can’t tell the sort of silent exchange that passes between them, but it ends with a deep, long-suffering sigh from Kokichi before he turns his eyes back onto Kaito.</p><p>“I mean, I <em>guess</em> I’ll try? But I can’t help you if you’re too much of a dumbass to understand,” he says with a shrug, as if he and his brother hadn’t just reacted with fear to being discovered.</p><p>“Awesome, great!” For a moment, Kaito is so excited that he doesn’t realize that he’s been insulted. A beat passes, then he sputters. “Wha– hey! I’m not a dumbass!”</p><p>Kokichi giggles, and Kurochi hides his own smile at Kaito’s expense behind his hand.</p><p>“I mean, if the shoe <em>fits</em>…”</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. {Tenkirumi} Pickup line snatched</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 38. ‘It’s a beautiful night.’ + tenko and kirumi</p><p>Tenko attempts to flirt by being funny. Instead she trips and falls over her own gay feelings.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Thank you so much for coming out with me, Kirumi!”</p><p>“Of course, Tenko, it’s my pleasure to accompany you.”</p><p>Kirumi gave her a gentle smile, complimenting her elegance and composure that intrigued Tenko to begin with. It brought warmth to her cheeks, and she quickly looked away under the guise of adjusting the sleeve of her jacket. A smile tugged at her lips, and she worried that it looked too big and goofy, but Kirumi didn’t comment on it.</p><p>“Are your clothes bothering you? I can always tailor them for you sometime,” Kirumi offered, making Tenko jump.</p><p>“No, no, they’re fine! Perfect!” Now Tenko really did have a goofy smile on her face, a hint of panic in her eyes. She hadn’t meant to make Kirumi feel obligated to do anything for her, she just couldn’t help getting nervous and flustered in the presence of such a cool, gorgeous woman.</p><p>And thank every god in the book that she didn’t say that out loud, as she was so prone to doing.</p><p>“I’m glad to hear it. Now, lead the way.”</p><p>“Y-yeah. Right this way, uh…” She pressed her fingers together, fiddling. “Could… could I hold your hand?”</p><p>She waited for Kirumi to express discomfort, but it never came. Instead, she held a gloved hand out to her with an encouraging smile. It didn’t help the frantic beating of Tenko’s heart, nor her urge to squeal in excitement. “Of course you may.”</p><p>“Th-thanks!” Face heated and hands shaking with nerves, Tenko took the offered hand, immediately taken by the velvet of the fabric on her skin. It didn’t disguise the warmth encased within the glove, and she gave Kirumi’s hand a light squeeze as she imagined the softness of her skin.</p><p>She said little else after that, choking on her heart lodged in her throat as she led Kirumi by the hand. Thankfully Kirumi didn’t urge her into speaking, content with the silence as they went across the grounds. Although no lights lined their path to the destination Tenko sought, the stars and the moon above brightened the world enough for them both to see perfectly.</p><p>They stopped after a short walk, at a spot enough away from any buildings with only a single tree stretching above them so that they had a clear view of the night sky. A soft “oh” of admiration slipped past Kirumi’s lips. Tenko stole a glance in her direction, and saw the other woman staring up with widened eyes and parted lips.</p><p>She bit her lip, feeling blessed to witness such an endearing break of Kirumi’s usual composure.</p><p>“Oh my… It’s a beautiful night,” Kirumi said, her voice low as if afraid to break some sort of spell.</p><p>Tenko swallowed and nodded. “Y-yeah. And… you know what else is beautiful?”</p><p>She’d asked Himiko for advice when she invited Kirumi out here, figuring that the performer would know exactly how to enchant the hearts of others. Himiko muttered something about jokes, and either wowing someone or making them laugh in order to make them fall in love with her… or something like that. Himiko hadn’t been exactly clear on that, but Tenko took the advice to heart anyway.</p><p>And so she decided to do both. Wow Kirumi with the view of the night sky, and then make her laugh with a classic internet joke–her answer of course would be ‘me’ and then the expression would crinkle with laughter, and Kirumi’s nose would do that thing where it wrinkles adorably with giggles, the corners of her eyes squinting. Just the thought of it made Tenko squirm inside.</p><p>But then Kirumi directed her gaze towards her, warm green eyes landing upon Tenko’s face. The stars seemed to sparkle in her eyes, lips parted and inviting, and Tenko’s voice failed her.</p><p>“Hm? And what is that?” Kirumi asked, prompting Tenko to finish.</p><p>“Ah, it’s… uh… the thing that’s also beautiful is…”</p><p>Tenko failed, she realized with a wince. She’d had her joke prepared, and she crashed and burned horribly when the moment was perfect. Kirumi’s effortless beauty had distracted her, and she didn’t know how to recover.</p><p>Kirumi didn’t laugh, however. With a gentle smile, she reached out to cup Tenko’s cheek with her hand. “Oh, I know what the answer is,” she said, leaning in closer.</p><p>Tenko could hear her heart pounding in her ears, so loud that Kirumi <em>must</em> be able to hear it too. Now she was the one caught, hardly able to breath as Kirumi’s face inched closer.</p><p>“A-and what is that?”</p><p>“It’s you,” Kirumi whispered, and closed the distance between their faces to press a gentle kiss to Tenko’s lips.</p><p>The contact was sweet, albeit brief, and fireworks exploded inside her where their lips touched. When Kirumi pulled away again, Tenko knew that her entire face was red with the fire burning in her cheeks.</p><p>“Ah. I see.” A lame response, but Tenko couldn’t think, her mind a whir with attempts to grasp what just happened.</p><p>Kirumi giggled then, showing Tenko the adorable face she’d been so eager to show. She drew her thumb across Tenko’s cheek, making her lean into the touch.</p><p>“You’re really cute, Tenko. Thank you for bringing me out here with you,” she said, just as Tenko had thanked Kirumi in the beginning for coming out with her.</p><p>“N-no problem. It’s my pleasure.”</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. {Platonic Twins AU} I don’t know who can possibly eat a meal without having something to occupy their mind with, like a book or a game or something, what person just eats and only does that</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kurochi joins his brother for breakfast on a morning like any other, and receives a deep shock in the form of a newspaper article.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for mentioned past sexual abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi awoke to an empty bed, an occurrence that happened about as often as it did not, and he stretched out as far as his limbs would reach, fingers wiggling as feeling returned to them. He’d slept on his arm or something, he supposed considering the tingling in it. After a minute or so, everything seemed to sort itself out, and he crawled out of bed still groggy from sleep.</p><p>The early morning cold of the house chilled him, making him shiver outside of the warmth of the blankets. He resisted the urge to return to them and headed towards the kitchen. An eerie quiet piqued his curious concern, none of the usual sounds of clanging pans and cheerful humming as Ranji made breakfast coming from down the hall.</p><p>When he reached the kitchen he saw the reason for that–Ranji wasn’t even there. Only Kokichi sitting at the island counter, spooning cereal into his mouth as he idly read the cartoons printed into the newspaper.</p><p>His eyes flickered up when Kurochi came in, and he smiled brightly. “Hey, Rochi! Dad’s sick so we’ve got the gourmet delights of this off-brand chocolate crunch cereal, for your tasting pleasure,” he chirped around a mouthful, making him grimace.</p><p>“Please, not with your mouth full…”</p><p>Kokichi responded to his request by shoving another spoon into his mouth before he swallowed the first, just to say, “Huh? What do you mean?”</p><p>Kurochi turned away from him quickly with a huff. “Never mind. Let me get some breakfast too.”</p><p>Behind his back Kokichi snickered, but Kurochi ignored him. Instead he made himself his own bowl of the described ‘off-brand chocolate crunch cereal’, taking his time with measuring out a good amount with some milk. Not too much milk of course; if it got too soggy, then he wouldn’t be able to finish it. Once he had and went to join Kokichi at the center island, his brother no longer found tormenting him with half-chewed cereal entertaining and had gone back to the cartoons. The rest of the newspaper sat in the center, with the front-page article lined with several pictures proclaiming ‘KILLER STRIKES AGAIN, POLICE SUGGEST MOTIVE’.</p><p>Kokichi saw him looking and looked back up from his own page. He nodded at it. “Apparently someone’s going around killing a bunch of rich assholes. Business people mostly and stuff. You know, the sort of people that <em>he’d</em> deal with,” he explained, apparently having read the article himself.</p><p>“Ah, I see.”</p><p>Kurochi slid in the seat next to his brother, pulling the page closer to himself. Eating breakfast was boring without someone to chat with, and since Kokichi was engrossed in his own thing, a newspaper article would be the next best thing. He stirred his spoon in the cereal a few times, wetting it with the milk before scooping out a good amount for himself.</p><p>His eyes scanned the page, from the bold-font headline in all capitals to the pictures lining the edge of the paper. The faces looked oddly familiar, and his stomach twisted as he tried to place them. It came to him slowly, like images uncovered beneath a thick, slightly opaque sludge in his mind.</p><p>People that <em>he</em> would deal with.</p><p>The memories surfaced, dripping with filthy feelings that made his skin crawl. A full-body shudder ran through him and he found that he couldn’t breathe quite right.</p><p>“Rochi?” Kokichi noticed the distress in his face. “Hey, you ok?”</p><p>Kurochi opened his mouth to speak and found himself mute. A pitiful wheeze escaped instead. Bile rose in his throat, threatening to make him sick right at the breakfast table.</p><p>He <em>knew</em> them. Kurochi knew the people whose pictures stared up at him from the newspaper now.</p><p>“<em>Rochi</em>, hey it’s ok. It’s ok, I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you ok? And you’re not anything like them, whatever killer is doing this won’t hurt you. I won’t let them.”</p><p>Kokichi misunderstood. In an attempt to comfort him in what he believed to be fear, he reached over to lay a hand on Kurochi’s arm. The unexpected contact sent a shock through his system; he flinched from it before relaxing under his brother’s hand.</p><p>Yet the reaction hadn’t gone unnoticed. Kokichi leaned in, trying to catch Kurochi’s wide-eyed gaze with his own. “Rochi, what’s wrong?”</p><p>Somehow, despite the lump in his throat and weakness in his chest, he found his voice.</p><p>“These people… it’s not just rich business people they’re killing.”</p><p>Kokichi, ever patient and understanding with him, squeezed his arm. “What else is it?” he asked, voice low and reassuring.</p><p>“They’re…” Kurochi squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. “These are people who–who paid him. Who paid him for <em>me</em>.”</p><p>Someone was killing the people who’d once abused him. He didn’t know how they found that information. If they <em>did</em> know it at all, but they had to. The victims were too precise to be a coincidence. And he didn’t know what he should feel knowing that. A vigilante, after seeing Kurochi unwittingly admit to his own sexual trauma on a live broadcast, or someone somehow worse for unknown reasons? A stalker?</p><p>He felt ill.</p><p>Kokichi wrapped his arms gently around him, pulling him into a hug. Kurochi pushed into it, burying his face in his brother’s shoulder with a shuddering sob. He didn’t know why he’d feel so shaken–shouldn’t he be happy that his old abusers were getting what they deserved?</p><p>He didn’t know. He didn’t know how to feel, or how to react other than with overwhelmed tears.</p><p>“It’s ok, Rochi. No one’s ever going to touch you again, ok? You’re going to be ok now, I promise.”</p><p>Kurochi nodded, keeping his face tucked away as Kokichi rubbed his back. They couldn’t hurt him anymore, a reassurance sealed in cement by their untimely deaths. Maybe karma really did come around to punish after all, and perhaps someone was genuinely looking out for him. Whoever that someone could be.</p><p>And maybe they weren’t, but at least he had family who’d do anything to protect him from that sort of harm ever again.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. {Jadochi} One of the most important sibling rules is that you horribly embarrass them any chance you get</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Selfie</p><p>Kurochi and Jaden are separated for a couple weeks, but they manage to keep in contact though they miss each other badly.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em><b>Message Received: </b>I really miss you. I can’t wait to see you’re gorgeous face when you’re back.</em>
</p><p>Jaden couldn’t know it from so many miles away, but the text alone caused Kurochi’s cheeks to burn a bright red. He bit his lip in an unsuccessful attempt at holding back a smile, and toyed with his phone as he tried to think of a response.</p><p>“Roooochi, come <em>ooonn</em>.” Kokichi flopped against his side, arms wrapped around him and effectively tearing his attention from his phone. “You can text lover boy later, we got stuff to do.”</p><p>“Sorry, I’m just going to answer him one more time and then my attention is all yours for the rest of the day,” he promised, setting his phone down on his lap to pat the top of his brother’s head.</p><p>Kokichi puffed his cheeks out, reading his screen. “Geez, we’re like a gazillion miles away and you’re <em>still</em> all over each other.”</p><p>“Well–.”</p><p>“But that’s fine I guess!” Kokichi said before he could apologize further. “It’s good that <em>someone</em> is giving my cool brother all the love and appreciation you deserve. Aside from me, of course.”</p><p>Kurochi, embarrassed, covered his face with his hands. “<em>Kii-chi</em>,” he said, whine muffled into them.</p><p>“What? That’s not a lie!” Yet he giggled at how flustered Kurochi got over the compliment, leaning his head on his shoulder. “Hey you know, I got the perfect answer for him.”</p><p>Before Kurochi could ask about what his brother had in mind, Kokichi plucked his phone out of his lap. With the same ease as navigating his own phone, he closed out of the messaging app and opened up the camera. Switching it to the front-facing camera, he held it out so that both boys were in frame.</p><p>“Say cheeeeese, Rochi!”</p><p>Kurochi barely had time to form a smile before Kokichi snapped a picture. He didn’t allow him to study it for long either, scooting away and tapping out a quick message himself.</p><p>“There! All done!” He finally relinquished Kurochi’s phone back to him. “Now hurry, let’s get going! I’m <em>so</em> bored I could die!”</p><p>Meanwhile, Kurochi’s cheeks burned hotter than before. “I can’t believe you did–oh my… <em>Kokichi</em>.”</p><p>He couldn’t help but hide his eyes behind a hand when he saw the message Kokichi had sent. Attached of course was the selfie that his brother took of them, with the worst kind of goofy half-smile that Kurochi could’ve possibly made next to Kokichi’s mischievous grin. Then the message:</p><p>
  <em><b>Message Sent [img attachment]: </b>Sorry! Rochi’s cute face is aaaall mine for the entire week ;P But I guess you can have a little taste. You better get that soundproofing done in the meantime before the whole neighborhood hears how lovey dovey the two of you are together.</em>
</p><p>Kokichi laughed at his face and hopped up off of the couch, prompting Kurochi to follow suit. “What? I said nothing but the truth!”</p><p>“Just wait, next time you’re on a date I’m gonna be a hundred times worse to you!” Kurochi said.</p><p>Yet his brother only grinned, as if he’d issued a challenge to be accepted. Kurochi quickly realized that he’d made a fatal mistake. “Oh we’ll see about that! If you wanna play this game, I’m definitely gonna win!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. {Jadochi} Lightning storms give Kurochi here a fright</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Rain</p><p>Set in a fantasy AU where Kurochi is a mermaid wearing a special charm to take a human form, he experiences his first thunderstorm on the surface, and it’s a frightening experience. Fortunately he has Jaden to comfort him through it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lightning lanced across the sky, brightening the dim room. Kurochi gasped at the crack of thunder that soon followed, throwing his arms around Jaden to bury his face in his chest. Jaden wrapped his arms around him, safe and secure, but still his heart pounded frantically in his chest. He listened to the steady beat of Jaden’s, and to the rain pattering against their window, and tried to remind himself that the storm outside couldn’t hurt him.</p><p>But then another boom of thunder startled those reassurances from his mind, and he pressed closer to his boyfriend.</p><p>Seconds passed in the space of an eternity, and Jaden rested a hand against his cheek to coax Kurochi out of hiding. He did so reluctantly, trembling as he emerged from the safety of Jaden’s chest. Another strike of lightning-and-thunder combo made him flinch, but he didn’t throw himself back into Jaden.</p><p>Once assured of Kurochi’s eyes on him, Jaden signed, “You’re safe in here. The storm can’t hurt you.”</p><p>“I know,” he said, yet the tremor of his voice didn’t inspire confidence. “It’s just… first time with a storm like this on the surface and…”</p><p>…and out on the sea, he remembered, storms churned up waves that even a powerful tail had difficulty navigating. They threw an unsuspecting mer against rocks to break bones and tear away scales. He’d been caught up on the surface in one once, and he’d been lucky that it only knocked his and his brother’s heads together before they managed to dive into deeper waters.</p><p>On the surface, in a place like this, a bad storm might knock over trees or taller structures, but it didn’t have near the destructive power that rendered one helpless. Yet he couldn’t help but shake and flinch with each reminder of how powerful the elements could be.</p><p>Embarrassed, he glanced up to Jaden’s face for reassurance. Jaden nodded, understanding of his fear, and hugged Kurochi back to his chest. He held him throughout the storm, rubbing his back with gentle motions in sharp contract to the violent sounds of the storm outside. Kurochi tried to relax, feeling silly over his anxiety, but throughout the entire time he remained tense despite Jaden’s best efforts to console him.</p><p>It helped though, even if there was little to show for it. Kurochi appreciated his boyfriend by his side, continuous and protective through it all.</p><p>Eventually the lightning part of the storm stopped, and only the sounds of the rain on the roof remained. They lulled Kurochi from his alarm, allowing him to finally slump into his boyfriend’s comforting embrace. He nestled his face into Jaden’s chest, relieved that the worst of the storm had passed.</p><p>The last thing he remembered, before the sound of rainfall helped him doze off, was the gentle press of Jaden’s lips to the top of his head, and a sweetly-mouthed ‘I love you’ into his hair.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. {Jadochi} Head in the Clouds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Lazy morning</p><p>Jaden wakes up and is inspired.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Somehow they’d drifted apart in their sleep, Jaden noticed when he woke up to find Kurochi on the opposite edge of the bed. He huffed in soft amusement, thinking that Kurochi must’ve had a restless night, a fitful sleep that inched him away from Jaden’s arms.</p><p>At least he slept peacefully now, though. Kurochi had flipped onto his stomach, hugging a pillow underneath him with the promise of losing the feeling in his arms when he awoke. His head faced Jaden, lips parted and breath soft.</p><p>Jaden couldn’t help it. He had to draw it.</p><p>He rolled over, reaching for his glasses and tablet on the bedside table. Drawing him always flustered Kurochi, but Jaden couldn’t let the sort of inspiration he found in his boyfriend’s effortless beauty slip through his fingers. He sat up and gazed over at Kurochi for a long while, studying his features with close attention to the details.</p><p>Then he began to draw. His eyes frequently flicked up to Kurochi’s sleeping face and back to his tablet.</p><p>Sunbeams peeked in through the blinds, falling across the sleeping boy’s body and making his hair look warm and soft to the touch, even as it stuck up at odd angles from an apparent fight with the bed. His shirt didn’t sit quite right, the collar tugged over one shoulder by the sleeve trapped beneath his elbow.</p><p>Jaden paused as he reached the pillow Kurochi hugged in his sketch. After a moment of consideration, he drew a fluffy cloud instead, and Kurochi was in a bed of them, with a swirling constellation of fantastic patterns and almost magical swirls all around him.</p><p>Kurochi made a soft noise, shifting in his spot. His lashes fluttered open, warm lilac eyes unfocused with sleep. He met Jaden’s gaze, then looked to the tablet in his hands. All at once the drowsiness fled him, leaving him to bury his face in his pillow from embarrassment.</p><p>“You’re drawing me again!” he accused, voice muffled into the pillow.</p><p>Jaden smiled, setting the tablet in his lap to reach over and pat the back of Kurochi’s head. He couldn’t say anything with him not looking, and so he waited until his boyfriend’s pouting face came out of hiding.</p><p>“I can’t resist, I want to capture every precious moment with you. Look,” he signed, and then picked up the tablet again to tilt it in Kurochi’s direction.</p><p>Although a tinge of red had appeared on his cheeks, Kurochi obliged. A small smile tugged at his lips despite himself. He let his head drop back against the pillow.</p><p>“It looks really good, Jaden. You’re amazing.”</p><p>“It’s only amazing because I have such a wonderful subject. I could do a million pictures of just you,” he returned.</p><p>Kurochi laughed, and dragged himself across the bed until he laid on his back next to Jaden, shoulder touching his thigh. He threw an arm across Jaden’s lap. “Haven’t you already done a million?”</p><p>“A million more then.”</p><p>Jaden leaned over. It took effort and wasn’t comfortable, but it was worth it to kiss Kurochi’s soft, waiting mouth, still clumsy from recently waking. Kurochi cupped his cheek once it was within range, and allowed his fingers to slowly slip from his face as Jaden pulled back again.</p><p>“It’s too early for this, let’s go back to sleep for a little bit?” Kurochi suggested, although Jaden suspected he only wanted to cuddle more now they he was awake.</p><p>Who was he not to oblige?</p><p>He nodded. Tablet and glasses both went back onto the table and he laid down again. This time he wrapped his arms around Kurochi, pulling him securely against his chest. Kurochi curled one leg around his, bringing their bodies flush, close and connected.</p><p>Jaden could feel every inch of his boyfriend’s body pressed to his, and the thought brought a vague heat to his gut. Not one which demanded to be acted on, but one which couldn’t get enough of this closeness to Kurochi. He rested a hand at the small of his back, encouraging him even closer.</p><p>Kurochi gazed up into his eyes, lips molded into a sleepy smile. “Stay with me like this for a little while,” he murmured, a low contented hum behind his words.</p><p>Jaden smiled back, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. He wouldn’t dream of leaving, not as long as he had the love of his life safe in his arms like this.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. {Jadochi} Things are difficult with the past haunting one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: First</p><p>The first attempts are painful… even though they shouldn’t be.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for sexual content and past sexual abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Kiss me?”</p><p>Kurochi requests instead of acts, straddling Jaden’s lap with his back slightly arched and his lips parted alluringly. His eyes fix on Jaden’s mouth, intense, wanting.</p><p>So Jaden complies, enthusiastic and willing as he kisses Kurochi. It deepens almost immediately, Kurochi moaning into the kiss as Jaden’s tongue swipes across his lips and he parts them for him. Their breaths mingle when Kurochi pulls his head away, pupils dilated and pressing his groin down into Jaden’s lap. Needy. <em>Gorgeous</em>.</p><p>“I want you, Jay,” he whispers fervently, grinding against him. He seems to have little room for thoughts other than that. “I want you, I want you.”</p><p>And god does Jaden want him too. His grip around Kurochi’s waist firms, and he flips them both on the bed so that Kurochi’s back hits the bed. A tiny sound squeaks out, eyes widened with surprise. Yet even with the flush in his cheeks and the thin arms still wrapped around Jaden’s shoulders, he can tell already that something is wrong when he grows rigid beneath him.</p><p>Frowning questioningly, he rests a gentle hand on Kurochi’s cheek. When he doesn’t react to the touch in any way, Jaden’s worry deepens.</p><p>He draws back slightly, stopping only when Kurochi’s arms tighten around him. It’s enough to sign though, and he does so with growing concern.</p><p>“Are you ok? Do you need to stop?”</p><p>Kurochi hesitates, then shakes his head in a jerky motion that is entirely unconvincing. “I’m ok… I’m ok, it’s fine, don’t worry.”</p><p>Even though he says that, however, Jaden can only worry about him.</p><p>“Kurochi…” His eyes sweep over his boyfriend’s face, the wide-eyed look still there, the shallow way he breathes. He’s started to pale, too, and not one part of his expression tells him that he’s fine. “Let’s stop for tonight. We can try again a different night.”</p><p>When he signs that, Kurochi’s face runs through a gambit of emotions. The dominant one he sees is guilt and distress, just as Kurochi squeezes his eyes shut and tears squeeze out of the corners.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’m sorry, I ruined it, I’m just–it’s just…”</p><p>He sobs, unable to continue. Jaden shifts to sit beside him, encouraging Kurochi to sit up as well and hugging him close. He can’t say he’s too surprised, with the deep scars from Kurochi’s past that still plague him. When he gets the chance, he assures Kurochi that he didn’t ruin anything, that they never needed to do anything sexual, especially not that he was uncomfortable with. He’ll always be there no matter what, and they could take things as slow as Kurochi needed them.</p><p>He can tell that it still hurts Kurochi, but his boyfriend does manage to relax somewhat into his embrace. Jaden holds him close, making good on his promise to be there for him. And he will, always.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. {Oumota} Some comfort, some misdirection, all love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: You say the scariest stuff in your sleep. Oumota (angst? :)))</p><p>It was supposed to be angst but I missed it sorry.</p><p>Kokichi wakes up from a nightmare.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kokichi woke up with a pounding heart and his hair clinging to his sweaty skin. He let out a shuddering breath as he stared up at the ceiling of the darkened room. Already the nightmare that had plagued his unconscious mind slipped through the cracks, lost forever, but the terror remained behind.</p><p>Next to him, Kaito murmured something incoherent in his sleep, flipping over on his side to face him. He hesitated, then gingerly shifted across the bed until he could bury his face in the sleeping man’s chest.</p><p>He could feel the slow, even breath as Kaito slept on and attempted to match it. Soon enough, his own breathing began to slow and his heartbeat returned to a normal rate. He wrapped his arms around Kaito. Even in his sleep, he somehow managed to make Kokichi feel a little safer just by existing, any dreams he’d had nothing compared to the other’s presence beside him.</p><p>Then, just as he began to think about dozing off again, Kaito stirred, and woke up.</p><p>“Hmm? Kokichi?” Kaito rested a hand against the small of his back. “You ok there?”</p><p>How considerate. Kaito even kept his voice low in case Kokichi was still asleep. For a moment, he entertained the thought of letting him think that he was. It’d be true soon enough, after all, since the closeness between them had already calmed Kokichi down. Yet for some reason, he decided against it, and pulled his face away to look up at him.</p><p>Kokichi almost faltered at the concern in Kaito’s eyes as he gazed back down at him.</p><p>“Of course I’m not ok, geez,” he said, forcing his bottom lip out in a pout. His voice wobbled as he spoke, a convincing act if he did say so himself. “You say the <em>scariest</em> stuff in your sleep, you know! I thought you were gonna kill me, so I had to hug you just to keep you from doing that! I was scared for my life!”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” With a tone filled to the top with disbelief, Kaito quirked an eyebrow at him. “That’s why my arms are completely free, huh?”</p><p>Kokichi huffed. “Don’t question me. It’s not my fault that your arms are way too big and muscly. There’s no way I can hold them down.”</p><p>That made Kaito chuckle, a deep rumble that vibrated low in his chest. Kokichi didn’t mind being laughed at, at least not this once. He’d only wanted a bit of comfort, though he wouldn’t admit to it. And Kaito gave it plenty with just being himself, next to him.</p><p>It was just a bonus that his arms <em>were</em> in fact big and muscular and strong as they wrapped around his waist, bringing him in even closer. Yeah. A very big bonus.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. {Jadochi} It’s Sir Scaly Noodleface and Kurochi’s terrible naming skills to the rescue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Sad</p><p>Jaden doesn’t always feel his best, but Kurochi is there to try and cheer him up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>Kurochi found Jaden in the living room, blinds shut tight and the room too dark in the middle of the day. He sat on the couch with his back to the entrance, blanket half-hanging from his lap. The tablet resting on his legs seemed to be the only thing keeping it from slipping off of him completely.</p>
  <p>When he got close enough, he saw that it was turned off, his tablet pen held in a loose grip. Jaden seemed to be more staring into the distance than trying to find inspiration for a piece.</p>
  <p>The sight tugged at his heartstrings. He made his way to Jaden’s side, wrapping one arm around him from behind and resting his chin on top of his boyfriend’s head.</p>
  <p>“Hey, Jay, how’re you feeling?”</p>
  <p>A long pause followed, then a listless shrug. Kurochi frowned, but kissed the top of Jaden’s head and straightened back up. He swung around to plop down onto the couch beside him.</p>
  <p>“Alright. This is a job for Sir Scaly Noodleface then!” he announced.</p>
  <p>That got a reaction. Confused amusement flickered across his face. His lips twitched with the hint of a smile as he gave Kurochi a questioning look. It vanished when Kurochi revealed his other hand, a small snake wrapped around it.</p>
  <p>“That’s just his code name, obviously. Here, hold him for me.” Kurochi took Jaden’s free limp hand, and placed the so-called ‘Sir Scaly Noodleface’ into it.</p>
  <p>They both knew of course, that SiScNoodle’s real name was Rex, but Jaden didn’t call him out on it.</p>
  <p>Although he’d just been sitting with no aim, Jaden set the tablet pen down to assist the snake with both hands as it wrapped itself around his fingers. Kurochi took the opportunity to pick it, and the tablet itself of course, up and whisk it away to the safety of the coffee table. With the expensive objects out of the way, he tugged the blanket away and threw it over Jaden’s shoulders.</p>
  <p>He spent some time making sure to tuck it around his boyfriend so that only the hand occupied with Rex was free.</p>
  <p>“There we go.” Kurochi leaned over, kissing Jaden’s cheek. “Now we have a perfect boyfriend burrito.”</p>
  <p>That managed to get a tiny smile out of him, smoothing out the hard lines of Jaden’s face. Kurochi wrapped his arms around him and gently encouraged him to lean his head on his shoulder. When he did so, careful of the snake still in his hand, Kurochi pet the top of his head.</p>
  <p>“I love you so much, you know that right?”</p>
  <p>Jaden nodded, some of the tension melting from his shoulders.</p>
  <p>“Good, because me and Sir Scaly Noodleface are always here for you if you’re not feeling great. We’re right here and we’re gonna watch movies all day together and you can’t get rid of us even if you want to,” he said, squeezing Jaden. “Maybe you can get rid of Rex though. We shouldn’t stress him out too much I guess–I mean not Rex! It’s Sir Scaly Noodleface! SiScNoodle!”</p>
  <p>Jaden’s shoulder shook with silent laughter. He turned his face into Kurochi’s shoulder as if to hide his face, making Kurochi huff with mock offense.</p>
  <p>“I’m being totally one hundred percent serious here you know, geeez,” he said, using his best teasing tone.</p>
  <p>A genuine smile curled Jaden’s lips when he raised his head to meet his eyes again. He signed out a ‘thank you’, moving his hand deliberately slow to avoid disturbing Rex too much.</p>
  <p>“Anything for you, Jaden. I love you so much,” Kurochi said, kissing his forehead.</p>
  <p>Jaden closed his eyes briefly as Kurochi’s lips touched to his skin. When he opened them, they brimmed over with adoration. He freed his other hand to sign, “I love you, too,” and then leaned in to press their mouths together in a soft kiss.</p>
  <p>They pulled apart again, and the love in Jaden’s own gaze had spilled over into Kurochi’s.</p>
  <p>“Good thing Rex doesn’t have human notions of decency or else he’d think that his dads are <em>totally</em> gross.”</p>
  <p>Jaden laughed again at that, but Kurochi couldn’t tell if he agreed with him or not. That was fine, though. He was just happy to have cheered him up.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. {Oumasai} Evil Supreme Leaders Don't get Nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: “Can I sleep with you tonight?” -kokichi wanting to spend the night with shuichi bc he had a nightmare, tho he lies about his reasons of course. can be either platonic or romantic, whichever u want bc im a sucker for both tbh (bonus if he has another nightmare while with shuichi bc then WHOOPS CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi wondered what had possessed him to agree to this. For ten minutes, the boy beside him squirmed with the inability to remain still, making the mattress creak with every slip, every shift of his body. The edge of the blanket tugged off of Shuichi’s side, forcing him to give a warning before pulling it back over himself again. Kokichi had apologized then, but then covered it up with the huffy complaint that the blanket was much too small for two people.</p><p>“You can sleep in your own bed then,” Shuichi suggested, sure that he wouldn’t be able to take Kokichi’s presence a moment longer.</p><p>“That was a lie, of course,” Kokichi said, the answer quick and immediate. Yet it lacked the usual playfulness in his tone. “Geez, it’s actually so big that I might suffocate to death here.”</p><p>It was going to be a long night.</p><p>Just as he thought that, Kokichi flipped on his side, his back now to Shuichi. Then, surprisingly, he fell utterly silent. He didn’t move once following that, and while Shuichi was mostly relieved, he couldn’t help but suspect some mischief brewing in those eyes that he couldn’t see.</p><p>After a long while of nothing happening, Shuichi thought that his suspicions had been unfounded. Kokichi must truly be asleep, and he was worrying about nothing. He’d come to Shuichi’s room in the middle of the night, asking to sleep with him. Although he had cited the reason as rats running through his walls to keep him awake, Shuichi felt that it must be something else. A prank, maybe. Kokichi did that to the rest of them often, terrorizing them inside the dorms and out without mercy.</p><p>That was why, even though Shuichi’s heart had softened and he agreed at the first hint of tears in those lilac eyes, he worried that he’d wake up to something gone horribly wrong.</p><p>But maybe he’d jumped to conclusions. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he estimated that about half an hour had passed. Kokichi wouldn’t persevere with his sleep act for that long, he told himself, and closed his eyes with the full intention of going to sleep himself.</p><p>Then he opened them in the next second.</p><p>Dammit, Shuichi had made himself too paranoid to sleep. He should’ve pressed for the real reason, instead of letting Kokichi tell him such an obvious lie. Either tell him why he wanted to sleep in his bed tonight, or he could just go bother someone else. If he did that, then he wouldn’t be worrying now.</p><p>Lost in his berating thoughts, at first he didn’t hear the whimper that came from Kokichi. Only once the shifting began again, and a sudden kick of Kokichi’s leg knocked him in the shin, did Shuichi notice anything. He hissed out, although it hadn’t actually hurt, and glared at Kokichi’s back.</p><p>“Kokichi? You’re awake, aren’t you?” he accused, and waited for an answer.</p><p>None came. Either Kokichi was dedicated to acting or he was truly asleep. After a few moments of stillness, Kokichi shuddered and squirmed with a pathetic whine.</p><p>Shuichi sat up in bed.</p><p>“Kokichi?”</p><p>No answer. He peeked over Kokichi’s shoulder, catching a glimpse of eyes screwed shut, with the supposedly sleeping boy’s teeth digging into his lower lip. A nightmare? Shuichi reached out with the intention of shaking Kokichi awake.</p><p>His hand barely touched Kokichi’s shoulder, but he suddenly flipped onto his back, flinging out his arm so hard that the back of his hand punched Shuichi in the shoulder. Any cry of pain Shuichi might’ve made was drowned out by the alarmed scream as Kokichi jerked awake. His eyes flew open on his desperate gasp, chest heaving.</p><p>Seconds ticked by with Kokichi staring up, eyes wild and unseeing. An eternity later, the panic began to fade, and his gaze shifted onto Shuichi’s worried face, frozen in place by his surprise.</p><p>Shuichi didn’t know how to react, Kokichi’s face so open and vulnerable in that moment. He watched as the other attempted to gather his composure, laugh stilted and shaky.</p><p>“Wow you–. That’s–. I…” Kokichi looked as if he was trying to come up with a cover up story for his violent awakening, but he hadn’t yet recovered enough to do so.</p><p>With such frightening nightmares that ruined his sleep like that, it was no wonder that he’d come to sleep with someone for the night. Shuichi felt guilty for suspecting him of ill intent, when he should feel honored that Kokichi trusted him enough to sleep beside him in such a time.</p><p>Shuichi laid back down, hoping that his sympathy reflected in his eyes. Kokichi gave him an uncertain look, searching his face as if looking for some sort of amusement at his expense there. He wouldn’t find anything like that there, though.</p><p>“It’s ok. If you have a nightmare, I’ll be right here for you. You can count on me,” he said. He wanted to make up for his annoyance from when Kokichi first asked to sleep with him earlier that night.</p><p>Kokichi stared, and stared some more. He didn’t move right away, eyes fixed upon Shuichi’s face. Shuichi didn’t move either, meeting his gaze with an even look.</p><p>Finally, Kokichi let out a shaky sigh. Shuichi thought that he could hear a note of relief in it.</p><p>“Silly Shuichi. Evil supreme leaders don’t get nightmares.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. {No Ship Maki+Ryoma} Vampires and Hunters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 81. ‘I dare you!’ + Maki and Ryoma</p><p>I was in the mood for vampire Maki and vampire hunter (on trial period) Ryoma.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She glowered at him from inside the iron bars, chained so heavily that she didn’t have even an inch to move. He lowered the crossbow to aim the wooden bolt at her heaving chest, the only hint to him that she believed that he’d kill her. And she’d be right.</p><p>He rested his finger on the trigger, ready to release the bolt and complete his initiation into the hunter group. Her red eyes flashed in response, and her body tensed in preparation for the killing shot.</p><p>Seconds passed. Still the blow didn’t come.</p><p>“What are you waiting for? Are you trying to torment me before killing me?” she hissed out, challenge in her eyes. ‘Kill me,’ they said, hard and piercing, ‘kill me and be done with it, I dare you.’</p><p>Ryoma resisted the urge to adjust his beanie. When he first joined the vampire hunting group, on a trial basis before his official membership, he imagined getting rid of the creatures of nightmares, plaguing and murdering innocent people. He hadn’t expected his first kill to be a vampire who looked much like a regular girl. Even if he knew the ‘regular girl’ had killed before.</p><p>Something was hard about it, though. She was helpless like this. It felt more like an execution without trial, rather than protecting anyone. He couldn’t pull the trigger.</p><p>“Guess I’m just getting way too soft,” he muttered to himself, and dropped his aiming arm down to his side.</p><p>Confusion, distrust, darted across her expression. She looked at him as if she couldn’t figure him out. Fair enough, since Ryoma couldn’t even figure himself out. It only deepened as he stepped forward, dug a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the cage.</p><p>“What are you doing? If you let me go I’ll just kill more people. Don’t you understand that?”</p><p>He snorted, but her words didn’t stop him as he worked on the chains. “What? Do you actually want to die? That’s not very vampire-like of you.”</p><p>“Shut up, what do you know about ‘vampire-like’?” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you let me go anyway. The coven will kill me if I try and return with the smell of failure on me.”</p><p>“Sounds like you’re a rogue then,” he told her, and the chains fell away from her body to the ground. “Just like me after the rest of them find out about this.”</p><p>She stared at him as if he’d just swallowed an insect in front of her. “Why are you even doing this?”</p><p>Ryoma could only shrug. “Good question. Guess I’d rather kill a vampire with their fangs bared at someone rather than one that’s helpless.”</p><p>She shook her head at him, his reasoning clearly unfathomable to her. “And if your decision just now kills more innocent people because you let me go?”</p><p>“Then I guess those lives are on my shoulders, and I’ll take responsibility then.”</p><p>“Stupid. I don’t get humans like you. Do you want to die?”</p><p>Despite her disgusted words, she didn’t try and attack him, even if he’d lowered the crossbow into a position that would make it difficult to raise and aim again should she do so. She stepped out of the cage, her long dark hair a mess of knots down her back.</p><p>Ryoma didn’t answer the question. “What’s your name?”</p><p>Another flash of distrust, her face one of calculation as she tried to figure out how the information might come back to harm her. Once she didn’t find a reason not to tell him, she told him, “It’s Maki.”</p><p>“Well, Maki, I really hope I never see you again.”</p><p>She stared at him for a long minute. He didn’t know what she was looking for in his face, and she didn’t tell him. After the minute had passed, she gave the tiniest nod.</p><p>“Likewise,” she said, and then disappeared into the darkened cover of the trees beyond the clearing.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. {Jadochi} And the night sky is a canvas of starts, a natural art form above them</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Stargazing</p>
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    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>When far enough away from the light pollution of the city, stars filled the sky in a spectacular view. Their light brightened the night, and filled Jaden’s chest with a sense of wonder as he stared up at them, with his boyfriend nestled against his side.</p>
  <p>Speaking of…</p>
  <p>Kurochi sighed softly, turning his face to nuzzle into his neck. Jaden squeezed him automatically, holding him close. It earned him a quiet hum, and he listened as Kurochi’s breathing grew deep and even, smiling. He didn’t think that it’d be him falling asleep before Jaden got drowsy.</p>
  <p>Jaden nudged him. Kurochi snuffled, body jolting as he forced himself back into wakefulness while Jaden tried not to laugh. He pulled his face out of Jaden’s neck, reaching a hand up to rub sleep from his eyes.</p>
  <p>“Mmmn no, no I’m not sleepin’, ‘m awake,” Kurochi murmured, his voice thick and slurred.</p>
  <p>Of course he wasn’t, Jaden thought but kept the snarky remark to himself. He didn’t think that Kurochi was lucid enough to pick up on his signing anyway, if his eyes were open at all. So instead he turned his face to press his lips against Kurochi’s forehead, watching the flutter of his boyfriend’s lashes in response, already dozing right back off against his shoulder. He pressed his palm against his cheek, encouraging him to rest his head against him again.</p>
  <p>Kurochi didn’t fight him, exhaling as he pressed his face back into the warmth of his shoulder. In seconds, the tension of fighting sleep had faded, and soon Kurochi was lax and silent against him. So much for late-night stargazing, he supposed as he turned his own eyes back up to the night sky.</p>
  <p>That was alright though, he decided. They were together still, and Jaden enjoyed holding his boyfriend as he looked at the natural beauty of the stars lighting the darkness above. He’d wake Kurochi when it was time to go.</p>
  <p>For now, however, he adored the sleeping Kurochi too much to find the heart to wake him as he slept so sweetly against him.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. {Momomatsu} Kaede really does her best</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Momomatsu // 68: "I can’t see anything."</p><p>Kaede gives Kaito a little surprise for his birthday.</p>
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    <p>“I can’t see anything.”</p><p>Kaede giggled, watching Kaito grope blindly at the air in front of him. He looked a bit like a fish out of water, glaring into the makeshift blindfold of Kaede’s shirt, and mouth twisting with displeasure. She guessed that he didn’t like the lack of sight, but it wouldn’t be for long anyway.</p><p>“Good, that’s the point,” she told him, reaching up to take one of his flailing hands. She squeezed. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you run into anything.”</p><p>“I’m not worried!” he protested, to which she only vaguely hummed in response.</p><p>As promised, she safely led him from his room, down the hall, and towards the kitchen. Despite his grumbling before, he kept quiet now. The only noise of complaint he made was one after his toe nudged an abandoned object on the ground, grunting in surprise and biting back a yell. She stopped to see if he was ok, and he told her that he was, his voice when he did a little rough in embarrassment.</p><p>Smiling, Kaede stood on her toes to kiss his cheek before they continued.</p><p>Once Kaito stepped off of the carpet of the hall onto the linoleum of the kitchen floor, she stopped and released his hand. Without saying a word she stepped around to his back. The prolonged silence unnerved him. He cleared his throat.</p><p>“Kaede? What–ah!”</p><p>Kaede had leaned against his back, wrapping her arms around him suddenly. That made him jump, a short yelp tearing from his throat before he could stop it. She kissed his back in apology for that.</p><p>“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” she said, sheepish, and then gently tugged the blindfold over the top of his head. “Happy birthday, love!”</p><p>On the counter sat a rather sad-looking chocolate cake, lumpy and slouching on one side. The icing was uneven, and patches of the cake itself showed through the thinnest of the layers. White icing on the top read, in vaguely legible writing, ‘Happy Birthday, Kaitc’, where she’d only managed to fit half of the ‘o’ of his name on the cake, resulting in a droopy ‘c’ off the edge.</p><p>“I made you a cake,” she said, as if its homemade status wasn’t glaringly obvious from the horrible make of it. Kaede braced herself, waiting for the teasing she’d surely get from it. “I know, my baking skills aren’t exactly the best.”</p><p>When he turned around, he didn’t have the expression of disgust she expected. Instead, his purple eyes were alight with excitement burning within them. He threw his arms around her in a crushing hug, pressing a firm kiss to the top of her head.</p><p>“Thanks, Kaede, I love it! You’re seriously the best.”</p><p>Her cheeks warmed, and she returned the hug with a giggle, shy in the face of his enthusiasm. “Don’t mention it. Just wanted to try something nice for your birthday.”</p><p>Then all at once his arms disappeared from around her. He was at the counter, opening one of the drawers and rummaging inside of it. “Where’s that knife, we definitely gotta have some now, breakfast can wait just this once.”</p><p>“W-wait, don’t cut it yet! Candles! We gotta do the candles <em>first</em>!”</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. {Oumami} Potions and Cuddles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: “If you have a nightmare, I’m going to be right here for you.” oumami!</p><p>Felt a bit like writing some hp au, since I feel like I’ve written this a lot for oumami already, so time for something a little fresh.</p>
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    <p>Kokichi jerked awake with a sharp cry, before quickly smothering it into the back of his hand, too little too late. He wasn’t in his own bed like he believed, but in the Gryffindor common room. Right. He’d come here late at night, for a little comfort from one of those inside. Now there was no one, however, and Kokichi didn’t belong in such a place.</p><p>He sat up, and made to leave.</p><p>Just as he began to get up, however, a mug suddenly thrust into his face. He yelped in surprise, falling back against the cushions that had been arranged around him before he’d fallen asleep. Blinking several times, he realized that the mug was being held by Rantaro, evidently offering him a drink.</p><p>Kokichi forced a grin onto his face.</p><p>“Wow, and here I thought you abandoned me in my sleep! Geez, Rantaro, way to give a guy a heart attack,” he chirped.</p><p>“Did you dream about the boggart again?” Rantaro asked, holding the mug insistently out until Kokichi had no choice but to take it from him.</p><p>He frowned. “No, of course not,” he lied. The mug warmed his hands, and the scent of spice wafted up from the liquid within. It calmed his racing heart.</p><p>“It was thoughtless of the professor to use something like that. Some people don’t need to confront their biggest fear in front of the entire classroom,” Rantaro said disapprovingly.</p><p>Kokichi’s frown deepened, and he snapped, “I said I <em>didn’t</em> dream about it!”</p><p>Holding up his hands disarmingly, Rantaro rounded the couch so that he could sit next to him. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and Kokichi didn’t resist as he was pulled into a comforting hug.</p><p>“I know. I’m just saying, it’s cruel.” He nodded at the mug in Kokichi’s hands. “That should be a calming potion. I’m told it tastes nice too.”</p><p>Kokichi took a sip from the mug. The spices danced on his tongue, brightening the fog in his mind, but he couldn’t taste so he couldn’t confirm or deny the claim. “It tastes like dirt,” he said.</p><p>Technically that wasn’t a lie. Dirt, drinks, they all tasted the same to him.</p><p>“You can stay here tonight. No one will say anything to the teachers if they see you in here with me, I’ll make sure of it,” Rantaro told him, squeezing him.</p><p>“Good! Because I wasn’t leaving anyway, no matter how much you wanted to get rid of me!” Kokichi said, already feeling better between the spiced drink and the arms wrapped warmly around him. “My beloved is stuck with me!”</p><p>“Lucky me,” he said, and pressed a kiss to Kokichi’s forehead. “Also that way if you have a nightmare, I’m going to be right here for you. All night.”</p><p>“It’s a good thing that I don’t have dreams anyway!”</p><p>They were always nightmares, more often than anything else. If he had more pleasant dreams, he never remembered them once he’d woken up.</p><p>Rantaro hummed, and he said little else, so Kokichi could only fall into the comfortable silence of his presence. He allowed himself to be held, sipping at the potion until the mug was empty, to which Rantaro took out his wand to levitate it to a nearby table, so that he didn’t have to break their embrace.</p><p>Kokichi sighed then, thoroughly calmed by the potion and by the arms around him. He nuzzled his face into Rantaro’s chest. The other smelled like spice as well, the same ones inside the drink he’d just had. His lids felt heavy, and slid closed on their own, and he fell asleep listening to the rhythmic beat of Rantaro’s heart.</p><p>It lulled him, into a sweet and blissful oblivion.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. {Tenmiko} Self care is headcanoning characters as ace because you are ace and want to explore your sexuality through fictional means without hurting anyone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I was inspired by an anon who’s afraid of HCing characters as ace because of backlash, so I wrote some ace Tenko realizing for the first time that her lack of sexual attraction isn’t a universal experience.</p>
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    <p>“Hey, degenerate! Leave Himiko alone!”</p><p>Tenko had caught Kokichi in the middle of messing with the sleeping Himiko. The poor girl had fallen asleep on a bench, no doubt regenerating mana as any good mage should do. Which attracted a mischievous Kokichi, pulling a felt-tip pen out of seemingly nowhere. She’d seen him just as the pen touched to Himiko’s cheek, and jumped into action.</p><p>Kokichi looked up lazily, as if unconcerned by her presence. “Hmmm? But I’m not doing anything!”</p><p>She got into a defensive stance, prepared to lash out. That got him moving, yanking the pen away and hopping back. “I can see that you are! Don’t you dare touch Himiko, you filthy male degenerate!”</p><p>He tucked his hands behind his head, affecting a casual air. Yet Tenko could see his muscles tense, prepared to bolt if she lunged forward at him, although he attempted to not seem ready to do so.</p><p>“Oh, riiight, I forgot. Only <em>Tenko</em> is allowed to touch sweet little Himiko’s body.”</p><p>She sputtered, heat flaring up in her cheeks. The very idea <em>repulsed</em> her. She reeled back, her stance a little thrown off because of his comment. How could he even say something like that. “I-I–! Shut up! I would never do such a thing like that. I’m not some sex-fiendish male!”</p><p>Kokichi raised his eyebrows. “But what if she wanted you to? What if she <em>asked</em> you to?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>She blinked several times, trying to wrap her mind around those words. It seemed as if Kokichi was fishing for something, but she didn’t understand enough of what that might be to avoid the hook. Then she snapped back into a tight stance, glaring suspiciously. “What are you talking about? Why would she want something like that? Himiko is sweet and pure and nothing like men at all.”</p><p>As far as she was aware, only men had such feelings. That was what her master told her, and was why Tenko had to be cautious of men at all times.</p><p>“Wow, you’re kinda dumb,” he said. “It’s totes natural to want to touch someone you like and be touched by them. It’s not like dirty or a thing only guys do, ya know.”</p><p>Tenko’s eyes flickered between the sleeping Himiko and Kokichi’s face. Natural? He had to be lying, because she didn’t feel that way at all. Did… Himiko feel those sorts of things?</p><p>That just didn’t make sense.</p><p>Before she could accuse him of lying, however, Kokichi continued. “Welp! I guess it’s totally natural to not feel those things, too! But that’s not a boy-girl thing. Maybe if you weren’t so worked up over ‘male degenerates’, you’d learn something about yourself, too!”</p><p>As she stood there, dumbfounded by the things he told her, Kokichi leaned back over Himiko.</p><p>“Yoink! This is mine now!” he announced, snatching up her witch hat, and plopping it down onto his head. “Now <em>I’m</em> the ultimate mage or magician or whatever!”</p><p>That jolted Tenko right back into the present. “Wha–?! Hey! Give that back!”</p><p>Kokichi stuck his tongue out at her. “Nope! Make me!”</p><p>Then he spun on his heel and dashed off. Throwing out all the thoughts plaguing her, Tenko took off in hot pursuit. Before she figured out anything, she had to deal with business in front of her–that was, protecting poor Himiko’s honor by rescuing her hat from the clutches of an evil supreme leader.</p><p>———————</p><p>Himiko only awoke once both the noisy people were gone, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Her head felt suspiciously cold. She reached up to investigate with her hands, and gasped when she realized what was different.</p><p>Her hat was gone!</p><p>“The vanishing spell I’ve been working on while I was asleep must’ve finally worked like it meant to,” she said to herself. Then, figuring that she needed to recover more mana after a feat like that, she laid back down on the bench.</p><p>“Now,” she said with another yawn, “time to work on the reverse-vanishing spell.”</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. {Jadochi} Reconnections and setting new boundaries</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I just reread the fish bait rules jadochi ficlet and hhhhh I need more mermaid au jadochi and also for them to made up and Rochi to explain why he panicked p l z</p><p>A continuation from <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23971675/chapters/60951391">here</a></p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi didn’t know what was worse–the knowledge that he’d nearly ruined Jaden’s life through his own carelessness or the thought that he’d broken his heart by panicking and fleeing.</p><p>He couldn’t trust himself. That much was obvious, from how he’d lost himself in Jaden’s warm touches and the softness of his lips. The memory still warmed his body, but then made him choke and gag when he remembered how quickly he’d ruined it. Jaden probably thought that he’d overstepped some boundary, that he’d hurt Kurochi in some way, when the situation was just the opposite. He longed to let him know that it didn’t have anything to do with him, that the fault lay completely in Kurochi’s tainted, sickened heart.</p><p>Or maybe Jaden hated him for hurting him like that, and didn’t blame himself at all. That’d be for the best, he told himself as he cringed from the thought. Jaden didn’t deserve to feel bad…</p><p>But he also deserved an explanation. He knew that, but the idea of trying to see him now terrified him. Kurochi didn’t want to see the face Jaden would make when he caught sight of the merman’s head in the water. He didn’t want to see hurt or hatred or even excitement. Better to cut things off now, so that Jaden could get over him and find someone who wouldn’t ruin him just by dating.</p><p>Better to stay away.</p><p>Even so, after yet another unsettled dream featuring the human, Kurochi’s resolve crumbled to the ocean floor below him. With his throat clogged with fear, he returned to the docks that had been their frequent meeting place. Part of him hoped that Jaden wouldn’t be there.</p><p>But then he saw him, sitting in his usual spot gazing fixedly out over the water. Their eyes met, and Kurochi was frozen in place.</p><p>Too late to back out now.</p><p>Jaden leaned forward, frantically waving to him. Kurochi sunk lower into the water, with half a mind to just dive below the surface and escape the conversation ahead of him. But then he saw Jaden tense, leaning out as if poised to jump right into the water, and he knew that he couldn’t. He didn’t want Jaden to try coming after him, and then get hurt or worse.</p><p>So he bit the bullet and swam closer, lifting his head completely out of the water. He half-smiled, frightened and uncertain, and lifted a hand in greeting, “Hi, Jaden…”</p><p>The look on the other’s face could only be described as relief, mixed with a torrent of concern with the amount of force that Kurochi had only seen in storms before. And he fixed those worried eyes on him, quickly overwhelming him with their intensity.</p><p>“What happened to you? You left so suddenly, are you ok? Did I do something wrong?” Jaden signed, hands fumbling. Kurochi’s guilt deepened, and he ducked his head.</p><p>“No, you didn’t do anything, I…” Kurochi closed his eyes, feeling the tears well up behind his lids. It took a great deal of courage for him to open them again and meet Jaden’s gaze. “There’s something I didn’t tell you, and I got scared. I’m so sorry…”</p><p>Haltingly, he began to explain. He told Jaden of just how he’d become a mermaid. Not the full story, because he couldn’t remember, but what he knew. At some point he’d met a mermaid himself and, through force or through willingness to forget his old life, he’d kissed them. It had taken his memories away, and transformed him into a mermaid himself, and a kiss between him and a human would switch him back at the cost of the other’s humanity.</p><p>“And I thought I could control myself and never kiss you, but then you made me feel so floaty and good and I didn’t think–and I almost did that to you. I almost ruined your life,” he said with a wretched sob. “And I can’t forgive myself for that, if I did that to you–I almost <em>did</em>, and I was so scared that I panicked and ran away, and you didn’t deserve that and I’m sorry.”</p><p>Jaden stared at him for a long while, open-mouthed in surprise. It was a lot to take in, so Kurochi didn’t blame him. Yet the revulsion he expected didn’t come to his face, nor did the fear of the kind of monster that Kurochi was.</p><p>Instead, he reached out to him, motioning for Kurochi to come closer. Which he did, after a brief moment of hesitation, swimming down to where Jaden’s feet dangled into the water. Without thinking, he leaned his head against one of his legs, looking back up to him.</p><p>“I wish you told me before,” Jaden told him, hands moving slowly as he composed his thoughts. “I would’ve been a lot more careful too, you didn’t have to deal with this on your own.”</p><p>Kurochi sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. He pressed a scaly cheek against Jaden’s skin, shyly asking, “You don’t… hate me for this? You’re not mad? Or anything…?”</p><p>Jaden paused, then signed, “No. I don’t hate you. I was worried, and really hurt when you left me like that, but I love you so much. That hasn’t changed. I just wish that I could be someone that you’d confide in more.”</p><p>He wrapped his fingers around the back of Jaden’s leg, feeling the muscle there. Soft, warm, so different from himself. “I’m sorry. You’re so wonderful, I didn’t want to mess anything up. I didn’t mean to hide things from you.”</p><p>“From now on, please tell me important things. I promise it won’t make me hate you. I want to take care of you and make you happy.”</p><p>Kurochi’s eyes widened. “You… still want me here?”</p><p>“Of course. If you still want to be here. It’s ok if we can’t ever kiss, I still want to see you every day. I want to be with you.” Jaden smiled so softly as his hands finally stilled, a gentle flame in his gaze that made Kurochi’s entire body heat up.</p><p>“Y-yes. I do, I do.” Now the tears that welled up in his eyes spilled down his cheeks, and he laughed as he hid his face against Jaden’s skin. “Yes, please, I love you, thank you, thank you so much.”</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. {Oumota} With a little luck maybe…</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: (enemies to) friends to lovers</p><p>A mermaid AU where Kaito and Kokichi are from enemy merkingdoms, but sneak around and meet anyway.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He shouldn’t go, he told himself once again as he slipped out of the window, gliding down along the tall spiraling structure. As silent as a shadow, he snuck away and out into the open water, traveling close to the ocean floor to lessen the risk of being seen.</p><p>He wouldn’t stay for long, he decided as he slipped into their usual meeting spot, as he did every time. Once he saw Kokichi in there however, resting on one of the raised rocks inside of the underwater cave, he knew that, just like every time past, he wouldn’t be able to stick to that decision.</p><p>“There you are! Geez I can’t believe you’d keep me waiting for so long, Kaito!” Kokichi whined immediately upon seeing him, twisting his body to face him.</p><p>Kaito groaned, rubbing his head. There was too much going on inside of it to deal with this right now. “I came the same time as always,” he pointed out.</p><p>“Which is always <em>late</em>, duh!”</p><p>How had he fallen in love with this merman anyway?</p><p>Before he could ponder the question further, Kokichi left his perch, swimming circles around Kaito with a thoughtful look on his face. Without giving him a chance to ask what he was doing, Kokichi reached up and ran a hand over one of the long, ribbon-like fins that decorated Kaito’s waist. Heat rushed to Kaito’s cheeks at the action, unused to having them handled like that.</p><p>“Hey, what–?”</p><p>Kokichi interrupted him with an oddly serious expression. “You’re stressed out. Why?”</p><p>Kaito blinked, mouth gaping open. Once he realized it, he slammed it shut again, but his confusion remained. “Wait, how can you tell?” he asked, too caught off-guard to deny.</p><p>“It’s obvious. Your fins look duller than usual. You’re not eating right or you’re stressed or something.”</p><p>Kaito was surprised that he’d even noticed such a thing. He hadn’t personally, and they were his own fins. Kokichi always dismissed them as being incredibly dainty, something that the mer of his own kingdom wouldn’t be caught dead sporting. As if they weren’t different kinds of mermen to begin with, with the people of Kaito’s kingdom having brightly colored scales and plenty of decorative fins. While Kaito’s scales were unusual in that they were dark gray, he had the fins typical of his kingdom.</p><p>Kokichi on the other hand, had just a tail, with scales as dark as squid ink save for the thin ribbons of purple that swirled around his tail. They matched Kaito’s dumb eyes, he said, but they were closer to the purple of Kokichi’s, he thought.</p><p>Kaito was ‘dainty’, Kokichi would claim, and made fun of his fins every chance he got. He didn’t think that the other would pay so much attention to the state of them.</p><p>“Yeah, you got me. I guess I am stressed out,” Kaito relented, sighing and rubbing the back of his head.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>The way Kokichi’s eyes fixed upon his made him want to squirm under the intensity of their gaze. He resisted the urge, thankfully, but found it difficult to explain where the stress came from. It’d have to come along with a talk about their relationship, two mer princes from rival kingdoms whose relations had never been good.</p><p>“The advisers… are telling my grandparents to declare war on your kingdom.”</p><p>Kokichi stared. “What?”</p><p>“They say that you guys are hoarding resources, and then there’s a bunch of political stuff… and that all our problems will be solved if we strike first and get your kingdom to yield.” Kaito looked away. “I… don’t think we’ll be able to meet here anymore, and I’m worried about you.”</p><p>“Wow, don’t tell me you’re giving up.”</p><p>The mocking tone in Kokichi’s voice startled Kaito, and riled him up into a burst of anger of his own.</p><p>“Giving <em>up</em>?! What the hell, Kokichi, I don’t have any say in this you know! What do you expect me to do if my grandparents decide to listen to their trusted advisers?” he exclaimed, curling his hand into a fist.</p><p>Kokichi pressed a finger to his lips, the hint of a smirk playing across it. “Easy, all you gotta do is announce your betrothal to yours truly and there’s no way they <em>can</em> start a war with our kingdom.”</p><p>As those words left his mouth, Kaito was utterly dumbfounded. He opened his mouth, then closed it again without saying anything. Finally he found his voice again, and said, “<em>Excuse me</em>?”</p><p>“It’d be a huuuuuge scandal if they did, it’s the perfect plan.”</p><p>“Kokichi, you’re asking me to marry you right now.”</p><p>“Nuh-uh, it’s just a betrothal geez,” Kokichi pouted. “Do you <em>want</em> my kingdom to end up attacked? We can call it off if you get somebody else, but this is how you can stop it without hoping your grandparents decide against that advice!”</p><p>“This is crazy.” Kaito shook his head, one hand pressed to the side as if to soothe the headache he felt coming on. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he agreed that it would be a good (temporary) fix. But the sneaking around he’d done all up to this point… uncertainty swirled in his gut, and his fins flared anxiously. “Yeah ok, fine, whatever. But you’re gonna have to do this too. You gotta handle it from your end, and I’ll handle it from mine.”</p><p>There was no way it was going to work. Their betrothal would just be annulled, and the war waged anyway, and everyone would know that he’d been secretly seeing the prince from their enemy kingdom for months now. He could only hope that his grandparents would see his desperation and… understand.</p><p>And maybe it was worth a shot, as tiny a target it was in front of them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. {Momomatsu} Get with the program, Kaito</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 23. Oh, has no one told you? - Momomatsu</p><p>Kaede is a mermaid. Everyone knows, except for Kaito. Oops.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“She’s been in bed more than normal, and her skin is all papery and pale, and I’m really worried about her.”</p><p>Kaito’s fretful answer was in response to Shuichi’s casual question about how Kaede had been. He’d left the house reluctantly at her insistence, telling him to have fun with Shuichi and that she’d be fine on her own for a little while.</p><p>“Oh I’m sorry, I hope she feels better soon,” he replied with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder.</p><p>“Yeah… me too,” Kaito sighed. “We’re supposed to go to the beach tomorrow, so hopefully she’s feeling up to it.”</p><p>“I’m sure she will. I mean, if you guys planned to go tomorrow, she’s probably just ill from being away from the ocean for so long.”</p><p>“Wait, wait.” The way his sidekick had spoken, in such a matter-of-fact tone, had Kaito puzzled. He stared at Shuichi, trying to glean information from his passive expression. “What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?”</p><p>“Huh?” Shuichi’s surprise transformed his face as he met Kaito’s gaze, eyebrows shot straight up to the top of his forehead. “What do you mean? Has Kaede… has <em>no one</em> told you?”</p><p>“Seriously, Shuichi, what the hell are you talking about?”</p><hr/><p>Later, Kaito threw his bedroom door open with such force that he had to catch it before it slammed into the adjacent wall. Kaede curled up on the bed, her face buried into the pillow. When he entered, however, she lifted her head from it to give him a thin smile.</p><p>“Hey, sweetheart, how was Shu–?”</p><p>“Why didn’t tell me you were a fucking <em>mermaid</em>?!” he exclaimed cutting her off entirely.</p><p>Kaede’s look of bemusement made Kaito think that Shuichi gave him false information. And just as his embarrassment began to form in the brief silence following his shout, Kaede smiled sheepishly at him. “Oh… I didn’t?”</p><p>Kaito dragged a hand over his face. “No!”</p><p>She giggled, although the sound was weak and not at all at his expense. “Oh, oops. I really thought I did. You always took me to the beach during that time of the month so I thought you understood…”</p><p>“I… how do you forget to tell me something important like that?!”</p><p>“Guess it just slipped my mind,” she said with another giggle.</p><p>So what Shuichi told him was true then. Kaito had somehow gotten himself a girlfriend who <em>everyone except for him</em> knew was a mermaid, and all the times they’d gone to the beach together were necessary to rejuvinate herself. <em>Because she was a mermaid</em>.</p><p>He crossed the room, sitting down heavily on the bed beside her. His hand found it’s way to the top of her head, rubbing over her already-messy bedhead.</p><p>“Seriously. Next time there’s something important, please make sure you actually tell me.”</p><p>Kaede smiled up at him, reaching up to take his hand gently. “Sorry… I love you.”</p><p>“I love you, too.”</p><p>Kaito’s life was unusual enough he supposed, being the youngest person to get admitted into the astronaut training program without even the required college degree. Why not add ‘accidentally started dating a piano-playing mythological creature’ onto that list?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. {Oumota} Letters in a killing game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: soulmate AU</p><p>Soulmate AU where your writing appears on your soulmate’s skin, and vice versa.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kokichi returns to his dorm room that night feeling sick. He’ll never let the others see this vulnerability of his, but the memory of the blood, the actual corpses of his peers, makes his stomach churn. Instead of going to the bathroom however, he lays down on his bed, on top of the disheveled blankets, and stares at the dark ceiling for a while. Sleep won’t come for a while, he knows, but he doesn’t have the energy to do anything but stare.</p><p>Then he feels the familiar tingle on his arm, for the first time in the last few days. Curiously, he lifts it to gaze at the underside, just as words begin to appear on his skin.</p><p>“Hey. What’s up?”</p><p>Words from his supposed soulmate. Kokichi’s lips twitch in a smile despite himself, and he realizes for the first time how much he’s missed this. Eventually the words fade away, and he stares at bare skin. He wonders if he should respond. In a hellhole like this he could die at any moment, so it’s not fair to keep the other attached to him. If he was a good person, he’d stay silent on his end to give them a chance to let him go.</p><p>Instead, however, he searches for a pen.</p><p>“Wow, and here I thought you’d forgotten all about me! It’s been so long and you didn’t even give me a little ‘hello’ -3-”</p><p>He expects indignation, a message about how they don’t have to keep in contact every moment of every day, and he’d have welcomed the banter. Kokichi needs a distraction.</p><p>That’s not what he gets, however. The next words that appear cause the small smile to die on his lips, and melancholy to take its place.</p><p>“Sorry. It’s been stressful lately. Haven’t even thought about writing in these last couple days.”</p><p>“Tell me about it.” Kokichi doesn’t write this, but murmurs it aloud into his pillow. He absently draws a spiral on his arm, something which Mr. Soulmate doesn’t question, but a heart appears in return. The sight makes him snort.</p><p>“Guess I’ve been a little stressed too. Don’t tell anyone I told you that though or I’ll use my connections to come kill you in your sleep,” he writes back, the grin returned to his face.</p><p>The other’s next response surprises him. “You know, it’s funny. I actually met a guy who reminds me a lot about you now that I think about it.”</p><p>Kokichi’s heart skips a beat, but he wills it to calm down. The implications of that answer jump at his throat, trying to claw their way inside of him, but he shakes them off. There’s plenty of personalities just like him, he tells himself, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one of the people he’s met in this place might be his <em>soulmate</em>.</p><p>Holding his breath, his written words don’t match the desperation he feels, and hold a playful tone to them. “You better not cheat on me with this guy! I won’t forgive you!”</p><p>“Yeah sure whatever, you don’t have to worry about anything. Don’t think I’m gonna go getting along with this dude at all. He’s kind of an asshole.”</p><p>Kokichi frowns. The words hurt more than he’ll ever let his soulmate know.</p><p>“What’s that say about me then :(”</p><p>“I don’t mean it like that. If you ever meet this guy, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”</p><p>“Sure, sure, whatever you say”</p><p>As he’s drawing a kissy face, the other’s response comes through. “Hey, will you tell me your name yet? I wanna at least know that.”</p><p>Kokichi pauses, the face drawing incomplete. He considers doing just that, but then he remembers the likelihood of dying. Maybe he won’t ever see this guy at all. They’ve been in contact for most of their lives, and Kokichi knows just enough about him to know that he’s a good person who doesn’t deserve the heartache of attaching himself to someone who’ll die soon anyway.</p><p>Of course, he can’t explain the mess of complications his life has become, so he sighs and writes instead, “Sorry sweetcheeks, you’re gonna have to keep waiting to get the pleasure of my name ;P”</p><p>“Sweetcheeks?”</p><p>Yeah, he agrees with the incredulous tone of his soulmate’s answer. That’s a pretty bad endearment.</p><p>“What? Don’t like that one?”</p><p>“It sounds stupid.”</p><p>“Wow, I’m super hurt by that, sweetcheeks, it’s a name from the heart.”</p><p>“You’re such a little shit you know.”</p><p>“Love you too~!”</p><p>They continue writing back and forth for a while, and Kokichi loses himself in the conversation. By the time it’s very late, he’s exhausted in a good way and a big smile adorns his face. He’s disappointed when the other says he should get to bed, but it’s amended somewhat by the rest of his message.</p><p>“Thanks for talking to me,” the other writes, “I actually feel a lot better now.”</p><p>Kokichi does too, actually, but he says instead, “Of course! Any time, sweetcheeks.”</p><p>“If you seriously call me sweetcheeks when we meet I’m going to punch you.”</p><p>He laughs out in the dark room, and he resolves to do exactly that one day. Assuming of course, he survives this place.</p><p>And now a part of him is determined to do exactly that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. {Oumeno} Sleeping out on the couch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: The prompt: “It’s lonely without you in the bed.” - with Oumeno?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Mnn, why’d you leave the bed?”</p><p>“I could ask the same of you, Himiko!” Kokichi chirped as the girl came round the corner, out into the living room.</p><p>The giant blankets tucked around her shoulders dwarfed her, and she buried her face under the edge of it. Only her eyes peeked out over the top, though that wasn’t saying much since they were half-closed in sleep. She looked like someone who desperately needed to sleep.</p><p>“Go back, I’m making plans for world domination so I’ll be up allllll night,” he told her.</p><p>In reality, he felt restless that night for some reason, so he came out to sit on the couch, handheld game console in hand. It was something to do, until he was tired enough to sleep. Belly-down, propped up on his elbows, he’d only looked up from the screen when he heard Himiko’s voice.</p><p>Ignoring his words, Himiko shuffled over to the couch, feet occasionally stepping on the blanket and tugging it down. When she reached his side, she opened the blanket wide and flopped down on top of him, rewrapping the blanket so that both of them were encased inside.</p><p>“Nyeh… it’s lonely without you in the bed,” she murmured, her voice muffled into the space between Kokichi’s shoulderblades. Now she was entirely enveloped in the blanket, like a cocoon wrapped up right on top of his back.</p><p>Fortunately she was small and lightweight, making her less than a nuisance to have on top of him.</p><p>“Welp, guess you’ll have to sleep out here so I can keep you company then!” he said.</p><p>“Mm-hm,” she hummed in acknowledgement, and already she sounded like she was falling back asleep.</p><p>He couldn’t help but smile. “Alright then! Nighty-night little Himiko! Don’t let the couch-bugs bite!”</p><p>His only answer was a tiny snore in response, and his grin widened. Kokichi couldn’t wait to make fun of Himiko for that noise in the morning. For now, he went back to his game, and Himiko continued to sleep the night away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. {Oumota} Quiet Comforts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: comfort</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Something’s wrong.”</p><p>Kokichi doesn’t even give him the chance to put on a grin and pretend that everything’s fine, and the sudden sharp remark cuts away any chance of him trying. The half-formed smile on his face falls away. As if dragged down by gravity, his gaze falls to the ground.</p><p>Yet Kaito only grunts. He doesn’t have the words to describe exactly how he’s feeling right now, but Kokichi is right on the mark. Something is most certainly wrong.</p><p>But Kokichi is still staring at him, expecting an answer. After a few tries and a few fails, he finally shrugs.</p><p>“Dunno, can I just… get a hug?”</p><p>It starts out as a simple hug of course, Kokichi obliging him by wrapping his thin arms around his middle. Yet it doesn’t stop there. Ten minutes later finds the two of them on the couch, a blanket draped over Kaito’s back and clumsily tucked in by Kokichi with one hand as the other continues to hold him. Not long after that, Kokichi rests his back against the armrest, and Kaito’s ear presses against his chest.</p><p>He closes his eyes, and listens to the steady rhythm of Kokichi’s heartbeat.</p><p>“You don’t gotta pretend to me, you know,” Kokichi murmurs, doubtlessly referring to his early attempt.</p><p>Kaito considers pointing out that Kokichi pretends all the time, but he doesn’t have the urge or the energy to argue. Instead he nods, and continues to listen and to feel the rise and fall of Kokichi’s chest underneath his head. Countless times before, he’s held Kokichi as they cuddle–for comfort and for the simple act of affection.</p><p>This time however, it’s nice to have the script flipped, and to be held by his boyfriend. The protective barrier of Kokichi’s arms chases away the dark thoughts nipping at the back of his mind, keeping them at bay as long as they’re together like this. He doesn’t know if Kokichi will appreciate him saying so, but still…</p><p>Kaito feels safe here, with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. {Irumatsu} Everyone needs a Miu-brand pep talk at some point in their life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Cafe</p><p>Kaede has gotten herself a job working at a cafe. Now on her first day, she’s nervously inspecting herself in the mirror. Miu doesn’t really help, and then she does.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>Kaede looked herself over in the mirror, making minor adjustments to her uniform. She smoothed her hands over the thick material, and she wondered how slacks that were supposed to look so professional could be so uncomfortable. They fit her thighs well, the flare at the ends of the legs flattering, but the waistband cut just a bit too deeply around her gut.</p>
  <p>Hopefully she looked presentable, though, she thought as she ran a hand over her hair. Despite her best efforts at gathering it all into a tight ponytail, that one bit of hair just refused to obey. The moment the weight of her hand passed it, it sprung back up, proud and tall atop her head.</p>
  <p>She sighed, tugging her shirt again. Her first day working at this cafe, and she couldn’t be more anxious.</p>
  <p>“Damn babe, look at those tits in that shirt!”</p>
  <p>And of course, Miu’s comments didn’t help matters.</p>
  <p>A sigh tore roughly past her lips. As she turned to face her girlfriend, she crossed her arms and fixed an unamused expression on her face. After catching sight of that, Miu demurred, the boisterous laugh at her lips dying out into a whine immediately.</p>
  <p>“Wh-wh-what’s that look for?”</p>
  <p>“I would appreciate if you shut up with the comments.” Kaede didn’t mean for her words to sound as cutting as they did, but her anxiety fueled into her irritation, sharpening her voice as it came forth.</p>
  <p>Miu hunched her shoulders, genuine shock on her face. “I-I was just trying to be supportive! You–you really do look really good in your uniform, tits and all!”</p>
  <p>“Just cut it back a bit,” she said, then softened a little as she added, “please.”</p>
  <p>The silence that followed hung in the air between them, bringing tension with it. Miu’s icy blue eyes darted around the room, avoiding Kaede’s hard gaze. Then finally, with her face turned to the side, her eyes flickered to Kaede’s face as she answered with “Alright, alright, I get it… but you do look good.”</p>
  <p>Kaede breathed out a sigh, though much less annoyed than the others. A small smile played on her lips, forgiveness in the warmth of her eyes. “Thank you, sweetheart. Do you really think I look good though? My hair isn’t going to be a problem?”</p>
  <p>Just like that, the discomfort of their brief conflict passed. Miu returned her full gaze onto Kaede’s face and said, “Damn right you do! And it better not be. It’s not like you’re gonna be preparing the food or some shit, and you can use a hair net if you are. Your hair makes you unique as fuck, and don’t let any of those dick-breath assholes make you think any differently about it.”</p>
  <p>Kaede giggled, despite herself. “Thanks, Miu, I really appreciate that. I’m actually pretty nervous.”</p>
  <p>“You’ll knock ‘em on their asses with how awesome at your job you’ll be!” Miu declared, not a hint of doubt or humor in her eyes.</p>
  <p>“We’ll see…”</p>
  <p>“Hell yeah we will!” Miu came up to her, placing comforting hands on her shoulders. Then, moments later, she nudged Kaede in the direction of the door with a tiny squeeze. “Now go get ‘em, babe!”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. {Jadochi} An affectionate sort of drunk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Drunk</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>References to drinking and alcohol, obviously</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi stretched out along the couch. His arms thrown over his head caused his shirt to ride up slightly but he didn’t care. Heat rose to his face, a pleasant buzz in his head. He tipped his head back and Jaden’s amused expression sliding into his view.</p><p>A wide grin split across his face.</p><p>“Hey. Hey, Jay.” He stretched his arms as far as they could go, grasping hands reaching out for his boyfriend. His fingers brushed Jaden’s leg. “Jaaay, guess what.”</p><p>Jaden tilted his head in question, lips still quirked into a smile, entertained by Kurochi’s attitude.</p><p>“I… I…” He continued reaching, until Jaden finally met him halfway and moved close enough for Kurochi to grab his hand. Immediately he brought it to his face, nuzzling his cheek against it. With a quick kiss to Jaden’s knuckles, he glanced back up at his face with thick adoring eyes.</p><p>“I love you <em>so</em> much. You’re the… the <em>greatest</em> and the best and so attractive and you make me feel melty and… and…”</p><p>Kurochi ended his rambles with a mildly embarrassed whine, throwing his free arm across his face to hide his mouth. The way the sappy words slipped out was unlike him, but after drinking he found it easy to let them go. Aside from the bout of post-speaking shame of course, but one look at Jaden blew his worries of coming on too strongly away.</p><p>Jaden leaned down, pressing his lips to Kurochi’s forehead in a gentle kiss.</p><p>“I love you too,” he told him, pulling his hand from Kurochi’s grasp so that he could sign. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “And you’re drunk right now.”</p><p>“Mm-hm.” Kurochi didn’t think to deny it, and Jaden held his hand again before he could think to protest the loss of contact. He leaned his face back against it, eyes fluttering closed. “I just… love you <em>so</em> much. I’m so lucky to have you… can’t believe you love <em>me</em>.”</p><p>He breathed out in a contented sigh, exhaling hot air against Jaden’s wrist. Kurochi felt like he could stay like this forever.</p><p>“I’m so… so happy…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. {Jadochi} Novelty underwear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I know this isn't on any prompt list but how about the first time Jaden sees Kurochi's underwear</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What is <em>that</em>?”</p><p>The signed question, wrapped up with a sharp gesture at Kurochi, made him stop shortly into the room. With the amusement wrapped up in disbelief on his face, eyes fixed on a particular spot, Kurochi knew exactly what Jaden referred to with his question. He didn’t need to look to confirm.</p><p>Even so, he decided to play dumb. Tugging on the hem of his plain shirt, he raised an eyebrow as if confused about what he could be asking about.</p><p>“What do you mean? It’s a shirt?” he responded, doing his best to hide the grin tugging at the corners of his lips.</p><p>Jaden leveled him with a look, not accepting Kurochi’s playful lie for a second.</p><p>“You know what I mean.”</p><p>He couldn’t stop his smile, throwing a hand up to hide his mouth behind it. It wouldn’t help his case any, but it came out of him despite himself. Giving up his facade, Kurochi tugged his shirt up just a little more.</p><p>“You mean these?” he asked, referring to the mustache-pattered boxers he wore. “They’re cool!”</p><p>Jaden laughed, shoulders shaking with amusement. It took him a moment to compose himself enough to reply. “Yeah. Where did you get those?”</p><p>“Found them at the store. I loved them, had to have them. Don’t you?”</p><p>“I love <em>you</em>,” Jaden signed, emphasizing his point at Kurochi. “And I think you’re ridiculous. In a good way.”</p><p>He opened up his arms, and Kurochi bounded over to the bed. The bed bounced when he flopped down onto it, accepting the silent invitation enthusiastically. He threw his arms around Jaden’s waist, nuzzling his face into his boyfriend’s chest.</p><p>“I love you too, even more than I love my underwear.”</p><p>“Glad I’m ranked above underwear.” Jaden rested his chin on the top of Kurochi’s head.</p><p>He squeezed Jaden, letting his eyes fall shut with a contented sigh.</p><p>“Yeah. <em>Way</em> above underwear. Love you, Jay.”</p><p>Kurochi couldn’t see if Jaden signed in response, but the gentle kiss to the top of his head was answer enough.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. {Oumaede} Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 33. ‘Just hold my hand.’ + oumaede</p><p>Kaede shows off a superpower.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wooww, if you were going to make up a dumb lie you didn’t have to call me allll the way over here.”</p><p>“You were just in the other room,” Kaede said, crossing her arms with a huff. “And I’m not lying! I told you!”</p><p>“Right, right, yeah.” Normally Kokichi held a neutral face fairly well, but in that moment a hint of annoyance flickered across it. Kaede might’ve understood where he was coming from, if his dismissive tone didn’t tick her off so much. “You know, you’re a reeeeeally bad liar, Kaede.”</p><p>She stomped her foot into the ground. “I’m not lying. Here!”</p><p>Kaede thrust her hand out, palm up. If Kokichi didn’t believe her, then she’d just have to prove it with hard evidence. Yet he just stared at her hand, as if something poisonous had materialized in her empty palm.</p><p>His gaze flicked back up to her face. “And…?”</p><p>“Take my hand,” she told him, not bothering to hide the impatience that colored her tone.</p><p>The corner of his mouth twitched, clear disbelief in his eyes. Then it spread wide in a grin that might not have been entirely honest, splitting across his face. “Oh-ho, I get it. You just want an excuse to hold my hand. Awww, does Kaede liiike me? Do you wanna give me a big smooch right on my lips? How about–?”</p><p>“Ugh, be quiet!” she snapped, unable to take another second of his teasing. Her hand lashed out, snatching his up in her grip. The suddenness of it cut him off with a short gasp. “Just hold my hand, you… you… geez.”</p><p>Before she could do anything, she needed to calm herself down. A ragged breath escaped her lips and she shut her eyes to force herself to regain her composure. It didn’t come easily, especially now that she was hyperaware of the warmth of his hand in hers, how still he’d gotten in her grasp. Kokichi hadn’t even tried to move away; his fingers curled gently around hers and–.</p><p>Focus, Kaede.</p><p>As her breath evened out, she felt the familiar tingle of power running down her arm. It reached their connected hands, and she heard a sharp intake of air as he must have felt it too. She resisted the urge to smile. That sensation would be nothing compared to what happened next.</p><p>Her lashes fluttered open and she pushed the feeling into his fingers. His eyes widened and she knew why–he must feel the sudden lightness of his body, the sensation that he might float away with the wind. Her grip on him tightened–that could very well happen now if a strong gust blew over them. With a tiny tug, his feet parted with the ground.</p><p>“Wh-what? What’s this?”</p><p>She smirked as he drifted further up into the air, as light as a balloon half-filled with helium. Kaede hadn’t missed the stammer, and she felt a little proud of cracking through the mask. Even though she did need a bit of supernatural help for it.</p><p>“So who’s the liar now?” she asked, pride blooming in her chest.</p><p>Yet the next moment, that bubble of pride popped. His surprise had crossed over into actual fear, not a hint of falsehood in his twisted expression. Panic raced through her–she pulled him down in a jerky motion, and all at once the tenuous connection to her power snapped.</p><p>His weight returned to him, and he crashed down on top of her.</p><p>Both of them shrieked as they tumbled to the ground together in a tangle of limbs. Kaede’s head bounced painfully against the ground, and his chin collided with her collarbone. They lay in a heap, shocked and bruised by the fall for a couple stunned minutes.</p><p>She managed to find the words first, voice trembling after the fall had knocked out her breath. “A-are you ok?”</p><p>After a pause, Kokichi nodded. His silent response didn’t reassure her.</p><p>“Are you sure? You’re not hurt?”</p><p>He shook his head. “Are you?”</p><p>Kaede took a quick stock of her body. There’d probably be a bruise on her chest and her head really hurt, but she didn’t think that she’d been seriously injured. “I’m fine… I think,” she said finally.</p><p>“Ok.” Kokichi breathed out what could’ve been a sigh of relief. “Good.”</p><p>They lay there in silence a while longer–Kokichi no doubt processing what just happened to him, and Kaede too filled with guilt to say anything more. Then Kokichi lifted himself up on shaky limbs, unreadable gaze piercing into her eyes. Their intensity made Kaede squirm, and she grew aware of his legs straddling her waist, arms caging her between them.</p><p>When she couldn’t take it anymore, she finally broke the silence. “Wh-what is it?”</p><p>Kokichi tilted his head to the side, and mischief sparked in his eyes. Regret began to bud in her chest, and she opened her mouth too late to take her question back.</p><p>“Well, well, well. I didn’t think that this is how I’d get to be on top of you,” he said with a wheezy giggle.</p><p>Kaede groaned, and proceeded to shove him off of her. “Geez, I give you proof of superpowers and you make a joke like that? You’re seriously the worst.”</p><p>“Neeheehee, I can’t help it if you just sweep me off my feet.”</p><p>“Kokichi…” she warned, fixing him with a no-nonsense look to no avail.</p><p>“No, no, really! When you touch me I feel like I’m float–ow! Kaede, how could you hit me like that?!” he wailed out with a burst of crocodile tears that made it impossible to feel sorry for him.</p><p>“I barely touched you,” she grumbled, throwing her arms across her face in exasperation. She laid like that for a long while, and the silence gradually returned. When she peeked out from beneath her arms, she saw him staring down at her with an oddly fond look. She immediately grew suspicious of it, although for some reason her heart fluttered at the sight. “What is it now?”</p><p>The look disappeared and Kokichi giggled. “Nothing! Don’t worry about it at all!”</p><p>Kaede was… disappointed? Or not, because that just didn’t make sense. She looked to the side, closing her eyes for a brief moment of peace. “When you put it like that, it makes me worry even more.”</p><p>Her only answer was another high-pitched giggle.</p>
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<a name="section0033"><h2>33. {Oumaede} And then there was one bed...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 49. ‘There is only one bed.’ + oumaede</p><p>Kaede is not quick on the uptake.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There’s only one bed.”</p><p>“Wow, thanks Kaede, observant as ever. Yes, there’s only one bed. Singular bed. The opposite of multiple beds.”</p><p>“Alright, I get it.” Kaede crossed her arms with a huff, glaring at Kokichi as he flopped back onto the ‘singular bed’ in the room. He wore the same cheeky grin as usual, leveling sarcasm at her statement without any care for what she meant by it. “Seriously though, how are we supposed to sleep like this?”</p><p>Wrong phrasing apparently. Kokichi sat up, mischief in his eyes and answer at his lips before she finished getting the question out of her mouth.</p><p>“You see, first you lie down on the pillow, then you close your eyes… I don’t know how you do it, but I sleep super easy in a bed! Just close my eyes and in a second it’s morning again!”</p><p>“Kokichi…”</p><p>“You’re right, sorry, that was a lie.” He held a finger to his lips, smile growing sly. “It actually takes me hours to fall asleep. Sometimes I don’t even sleep at all! The life of an insomniac is just–.”</p><p>“Stop that,” she snapped, unable to take his teasing and purposeful evasion of the elephant in the room. Which was the bed. Kokichi was currently perched on their elephant, and she knew that he knew it too. “If there’s only one bed, who’s going to sleep in it?”</p><p>Her question effectively shut him up. His face wiped blank, and he stared at her as if she’d asked something utterly absurd. Then, after a long few moments, he said, “Well, wouldn’t we both sleep in it?”</p><p>An answer so obvious, and yet Kaede found the ground beneath her shaken by it.</p><p>“Huh? Together?!” she exclaimed before she had a chance to stop herself, blinking her eyes wide open.</p><p>Sleeping with Kokichi? She didn’t know if she was more surprised by the suggestion or by the thought that it didn’t sound like that bad an idea. They’d been close plenty of times before, hang out sessions often ending with them leaning against each other or Kokichi pretending to yawn dramatically and fall asleep in her lap. Sharing a bed couldn’t be too bad… right?</p><p>As she still grappled with the idea, Kokichi had hopped up from the bed. He stretched his arms up over his head, and tucked his hands behind it, out of her view.</p><p>“Just kidding! I’ll sleep on the floor and you’ll take the bed!” he chirped out in the silence that followed her reaction. Although he wore a cheerful grin, his eyes didn’t quite meet hers. “Wow, you should see the look on your face. I totes fooled you.”</p><p>“Wh–?” Kaede shook her head. Sometimes Kokichi could flip so quickly that she got whiplash from his moods. Was he really just messing with her? She felt a little foolish for taking him seriously. And a little disappointed? “You didn’t want to…?”</p><p>“Sleep with you? Of course not! You hog the bed anyway, and I need space for my beauty sleep.”</p><p>“I don’t hog the bed!” she protested, hands on her hips. “You don’t even know, we haven’t even shared a bed at all!”</p><p>“And we’re not going to test it tonight, duh. Isn’t that what you wanted? I don’t want to encroach on your precious sleeping rituals, after all.”</p><p>Although he maintained an air of cheer, his eyes searched hers. Suddenly Kaede wondered if she’d given him the wrong impression. Rubbing her upper arm, it was her turn to avert her gaze.</p><p>“Geez, well you don’t have to sleep on the floor if you don’t want to,” she said, pouting. “I’m not opposed to sharing the bed with you. It just caught me off guard was all.”</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him blink at her. His arms returned to his sides, a curious tilt to his head.</p><p>“Really? You don’t care?”</p><p>“I don’t care if you don’t care,” she said.</p><p>The corner of his mouth twitched. “Really really?”</p><p>The corner of her eye twitched back. “Yes. Really, really.”</p><p>“Really really really?”</p><p>“Kokichi–,” she began in warning, but before she could get much more out, he cheerfully interrupted her.</p><p>“Well I guess I’ll sleep with you if you’re going to beg like that! I’ll benefit you with my presence this deathly cold night.”</p><p>Oh Kaede could feel the headache coming on. She hoped that she wouldn’t regret her offer by the end of the night, and that sharing the bed with Kokichi would be every bit as pleasant as she was still hoping it was. Right now though, she stomped her foot into the ground, huffing and puffing in her upset.</p><p>“I’m not begging!”</p>
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<a name="section0034"><h2>34. {Kaerumi} Sometimes a disaster is a little spilled drink when you’re already nervous</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Disaster</p><p>A pre-concert disaster leaves Kaede spiraling, but fortunately for her, her girlfriend is the rock of support she needs to get sorted out straight.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh, maybe I should do some extra practice, just in case.” Kaede chewed on her lip, fiddling with her cup of tea as Kirumi ran a comb through her wet hair. Normally she’d find it soothing, but she was so wound up that she couldn’t sit still to enjoy it. “I don’t know, there’s this one part that I struggle with–.”</p><p>“You’re going to do just fine, sweetheart,” Kirumi told her, as calm and collected as ever. She parted Kaede’s hair, then reached for the blow dryer. “You always do.”</p><p>“But this time–.”</p><p>“This time you’re going to play, and the entire audience will be as entranced by the love in your music as ever. Your concerts always go well.”</p><p>She squirmed in place. “I guess they do, but…”</p><p>Kirumi paused, a piece of Kaede’s hair in one hand, blow dryer in the other. She bent down and pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. “You’ll do wonderful.”</p><p>Then she flicked the power on and began to dry her hair. Kaede sat in relative silence, sipping at the chamomile tea her girlfriend had made to help calm her nerves. While the drink did little for her, the firm reassurance in Kirumi’s level voice did wonders. Her nerves might still eat at her, but they didn’t spiral under control when Kirumi sounded so certain.</p><p>If Kirumi had no doubts, it helped Kaede believe in herself as well.</p><p>Kirumi did a simple style, leaving her hair straight with some spray to hold it in place. That didn’t stop her ahoge from popping up out of the top of her head, even if Kirumi smoothed it down, but Kaede had long since made peace with that particular quirk of her hair. She shifted again, growing more restless the longer she tried to sit still.</p><p>Then, when she brought her mug up to her lips, she managed to miss entirely. Lukewarm tea spilled down the front of the gown she was supposed to wear for her concert.</p><p>“Oh no! Not this now!” Although the tea was nothing more than a wet spot, and likely wouldn’t stain, Kaede found tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “My dress….”</p><p>Although the spill was a minor accident, in Kaede’s mind it felt like the beginning of a slippery slope down into a burning fire. Her clumsiness began with this, but what if she slipped up in the middle of her concert? One wrong note and the discordance would ring out through the entirely silent auditorium. Everyone there would hear it, and she couldn’t make up for that.</p><p>Her hands shook, with both the embarrassment of the spill and with fear that it would escalate into something more. At this rate, she wouldn’t even be able to hit the right keys, her hands trembling too much for the intricacies of piano-playing.</p><p>She couldn’t do this. Her breathing choked out in a sob. And now she was crying over spilled tea. This was a disaster, her makeup would be–she couldn’t–.</p><p>“Kaede.”</p><p>Kirumi took her hands, bringing them up to her lips. It startled Kaede out of the downward spiral her mind had sent her into. She looked up sharply, tears brimming in her eyes as her girlfriend gazed steadily down into her. Her warm olive eyes held concern underneath her steadfastness. She squeezed Kaede’s hands together.</p><p>“It’s alright, Kaede. I promise it’s going to be alright,” she said in a low tone, her voice washing over Kaede’s frayed nerves. “Here, let’s dry your dress, and everything will be ok. It’s just a bit of tea.”</p><p>Kaede nodded. She didn’t speak as she allowed Kirumi to help sort herself out. Under her gentle ministrations, including a brief shoulder rub to calm her, the slippery slope she’d been peering down earlier looked like nothing but flat ground. She’d just stepped in a hole was all.</p><p>By the time they stood at the front door, preparing to leave for the concert, Kaede felt more than ready to take on the world. One piano song at a time.</p><p>“‘Rumi?” she spoke up, just before they strode outside into the cool night air. When she got the taller girl’s attention, she stood on tiptoes to press their lips together. She pulled away with a soft smile, warmth coloring her cheeks. “Thank you so much. For everything.”</p><p>Kirumi returned her smile, expression softened with such affection that it made Kaede feel a little dizzy to look at.</p><p>“Any time, my love. I’m here to support you through anything.” She took Kaede’s hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I can’t wait to listen to your concert tonight. You’re going to do great.”</p>
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<a name="section0035"><h2>35. {Tenmaki} Mute in the first and last moments</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Silent</p><p>When the others woke up, Maki never expected Tenko of all people to fall silent.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Tenko? It’s me.”</p><p>Although Maki spoke in a flat tone, when she entered the other girl’s hospital room she was greeted by a cheerful smile and vigorous wave. While silent, the earnestness of her greeting had Maki averting her eyes.</p><p>“I thought you might want something different,” she said, as if her visit needed an explanation. As she approached the bed, she held the wrapped treat out in front of her. “Here.”</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the way Tenko’s eyes lit up at the fish-shaped cake. She reached out and took the taiyaki from her with a grateful nod. By the time she’d unwrapped it and took a bite, Maki had returned her eyes to the other’s face at last, watching her snack.</p><p>It amazed her that, despite the fact that Tenko hadn’t spoken since waking from the virtual reality world, her face remained expressive enough to tell Maki anything she needed to know. While it made conversations a little one-sided, she found herself intrigued by the light dancing behind those warm green eyes.</p><p>Then suddenly, Tenko waved her hands in front of her, startling Maki out of her thoughts. She leaned back slightly, eyes scanning Tenko’s face. “Yes? Do you need something?”</p><p>That was when Tenko froze. She looked around her surroundings, clearly wanting to say something but without the ability to do so. The sight made Maki’s heart pang in sympathy.</p><p>She discarded the feeling quickly, and reached into her messenger bag. Every time she went out, she wore it. Part of it was in case that she saw something–like the taiyaki–to bring back for the others. Then part of it was just to have the reassurance of something hanging around her body.</p><p>She pulled a small notebook and pen from inside. The bright pastel pink had gotten her some looks when she bought it, as did the equally pink pen with a little orange puffball hanging off the end. She held the items out to Tenko.</p><p>“Here, I got these for you as well.”</p><p>Glee jumped to Tenko’s face, and she all but snatched the notebook and pen from Maki in her eagerness to have it. Annoyance began to form in the back of her mind, but before it took root Tenko was scribbling something onto the first page. She held it up, the words ‘THANK YOU’ written big and bold, little hearts and stars doodled quickly around it.</p><p>A smile tugged at Maki’s lips. “Don’t mention it. Now, what is it you were trying to tell me?”</p><p>With a little ‘o’ of her lips, Tenko bent her head down to the page. Her hair fell across her face as she did, tongue poking out the corner of her lips. Maki had the urge to reach out and brush her hair back behind her ear. She shoved the feeling back, scolding herself for such a strange desire. Why would she want to do something so silly and unnecessary.</p><p>Tenko lifted the back again, the grin returned to her face. Maki read quickly, her eyes scanning the page.</p><p>“I’m getting discharged tomorrow!” the page read, and she could practically hear Tenko’s former voice coming out of it. “When I do, the first thing I want to do is spar with Maki.”</p><p>That made her blink. “Huh? Why? Do you want to die?”</p><p>She hadn’t meant for that question to slip past her lips, but Tenko’s request surprised her so much that she couldn’t help it. Tenko only shook her head, not deterred in the slightest as she wrote her response.</p><p>“I want to be closer to Maki, and the best way to do that is through our bodies, slamming each other into the ground.”</p><p>Maki held a hand to her face, feeling her cheeks burn at the wording. Tenko looked too innocent to say something like that. “That sounds really wrong you know.”</p><p>She blinked, as blank as Maki expected her to look. Then, writing, “I think it’s a great idea. Also I’ve been in this bed for so long that I need to get moving as soon as possible! And since Maki is so strong, I know it’ll be a great fight.”</p><p>For a long minute, only silence followed Tenko’s message. Maki stared hard at the other girl, trying to find some hidden motives behind that sweetly smiling face. She couldn’t find any, and sighed.</p><p>“Well, if you must, I’ll spar with you then.”</p><p>Tenko bounced in bed, gleeful at Maki’s acceptance. Normally she’d find it annoying, but somehow the fact that she’d caused it made it endearing. The smallest of smiles came to her lips, but for Maki she may as well have been beaming.</p><p>“Really, all this over a little sparring. I swear, you’re hopeless…”</p>
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<a name="section0036"><h2>36. {Yumaga} Technically, if they were racing to wake up from the VR world then it would be called pod racing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Waiting</p><p>Shuichi finds Himiko waiting, so that she can tell Angie something important when she finally wakes up.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi volunteered to find Himiko, when Kaito suggested that they have dinner together. It was a nice gesture, though the smell that came from the kitchen was rather dubious. Regardless, they could probably use the chance to eat together, like they had back in the killing game.</p><p>“Thanks, bro. See if you can drag Kokichi’s ass out here while you’re at it. He can’t stay in his room all day.”</p><p>He turned his face away from Kaito’s smile, guilt welling up in his chest. Kaito would have a better chance of getting Kokichi out, but Shuichi wasn’t about to refuse him.</p><p>So he stopped by Kokichi’s room first, knocking and calling softly into it. He waited, knocked again, but he got nothing in response. Kokichi might not even be inside for all the silence he faced standing at the door, but Shuichi hadn’t seen the smaller boy anywhere else in the facility since waking up in his pod. And so after a minute longer, he sighed and went on his way.</p><p>Hopefully soon the supreme leader would decide to join them.</p><p>He knew where exactly to find Himiko. She didn’t spend much time in her own room. In fact, Shuichi thought that if he went in there then he would see dust collecting on every surface. Instead, she frequented the pod room, where they’d woken up from the virtual world and in which a couple of the others still lay in theirs.</p><p>Sure enough, when he pushed the door open he saw Himiko immediately, sitting in a chair beside Angie’s pod. Her face was turned towards him, her cheek pillowed against the glass and eyes closed. A bit of drool was coming out of her mouth, thoroughly passed out after what was no doubt an entire night spent at Angie’s side.</p><p>Crossing the room, he shook her awake with a gentle hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Mmph, huh?” Himiko jolted awake like someone rising from the dead. Groaning, she straightened up. She passed the back of her hand across her mouth and grimaced. “Shuichi? ‘S that you?”</p><p>“Yeah. Kaito wanted to eat dinner with everyone who’s awake so far.”</p><p>“Oh.” Eyes still unfocused, she dropped her gaze back down to the pod she’d fallen asleep on. After a beat, she told him, “I’m not really hungry.”</p><p>“You should eat anyway–have you eaten at all today?”</p><p>“No, but…” Himiko trailed off in a whine, reaching up for a hat that wasn’t there. Instead she grabbed her hair, letting her arms hang in a way that made her look all the more pitiful. “When do you think Angie’s going to wake up? It’s been so long already.”</p><p>Shuichi looked around the room. Few students remained in the pods–Korekiyo, Ryoma, Kaede, and Angie. Something kept them from waking, but he didn’t know what that might be.</p><p>“I don’t know, but they said it could be any day now, right?” That was all he could offer, hope for the future.</p><p>“What if she doesn’t though?” Himiko’s expression cracked wide open, vulnerable and hurt and terrified. “Angie always said we shouldn’t try to escape, so that no one else would die. What if she…? What if…?”</p><p>Shuichi didn’t know how to console her. Hesitantly, he reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. Himiko choked on a noise that sounded like a sob.</p><p>“I never even told her that I….”</p><p>Suddenly, she bit her lip and fell silent. She stuffed the emotions away, her face clearing of everything but the exhausted look that dominated expression most of the time.</p><p>“Never mind…. I’ll tell her when she wakes up.” Sighing, she stood from the chair, turning so that she could follow Shuichi out of the room. As they left, she looked over her shoulder one more time.</p><p>“I really wish… I listened to Tenko before, about holding back my emotions.” Her bottom lip quivered. “Then I could’ve… could’ve told Angie something important before she died.”</p><p>“You’ll tell her when she wakes up,” he said.</p><p>Himiko nodded, though her expression didn’t lift any.</p><p>“…I hope she wakes up soon.”</p>
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<a name="section0037"><h2>37. {Himiko/Tenko/Kaede/Miu} Well it's sort of a compliment anyway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Balloons</p><p>Himiko/Tenko/Kaede/Miu in ship that I’m not even gonna try to make up a name for. It involves two kinds of balloons: the latex kind and the Miu kind.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Slight sexual reference, some Miu being insulting.</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The <em>POP</em> rang out in the room, making Miu shriek at the sudden sound. She whirled around, leveling a shaken glare at the culprit–a very dazed Himiko with a fork in one hand and a broken balloon in the other.</p><p>“Goddammit, can you <em>not</em> make a racket like that?!” she exclaimed, to which Himiko pouted.</p><p>“It wasn’t supposed to pop like that. I was supposed to put the fork in and my magic would keep it safe.”</p><p>“Fuck off with your magic bullshit already, you just did that on purpose!”</p><p>“Hey, don’t say that about Himiko!” Tenko exclaimed, immediately jumping to her defense. “She’s an amazing mage!”</p><p>“Mage my ass, she–.”</p><p>“Ladies, ladies, ladies!” Kaede decided it best to interject before the tiny spark of an argument could grow into a wildfire. She stepped in between Miu and Tenko, the latter standing next to Himiko, hands held up placatingly. “Come on, it’s not really that big a deal, it was just surprising, right Miu?”</p><p>She turned her gaze onto Miu, half-stern, half-pleading for her to relent.</p><p>And she did, albeit visibly reluctant to do so. Crossing her arms, Miu turned her face away in obstinance. Yet her voice was shy as she said, “Alright I get it. The balloon just freaked me out a little, ok? So sue me.”</p><p>Apparently pacified by Miu dropping her weapons, Tenko brought her index fingers together, smiling sheepishly. “W-well it <em>is</em> understandable to be scared of a balloon. I used to be scared of thunder! Then I learned that it’s the roar of the gods blessing your battle, and I felt better after that!”</p><p>“Right, like that.” Kaede sighed in relief, though she had no idea what Tenko was referring to. Was that a belief in a religion? She’d never heard the story before.</p><p>“Nyeh, I think I should get some practice in later then. My magic is a little rusty…”</p><p>“Oh! I got an idea for you!” Miu rounded Kaede so that she was directly behind her. Before she could turn to face her, the girl placed her hands on her shoulders to swivel her in Himiko’s direction. “Why don’t you try practicing sticking something pointy into these puppies right here?”</p><p>It took Kaede a solid thirty seconds before she realized what Miu was doing.</p><p>“Wh-?! <em>Miu</em>!”</p><p>“What? They’re practically balloons.” As if she hadn’t been suggesting something as absurd as using Kaede’s <em>breasts</em> for magic practice, Miu continued with a dreamy look on her face. “Just a couple of big, fleshy, warm mounds of balloons, heheh…”</p><p>Kaede’s face burned with the force of the sun, brought down onto the earth to sear her cheeks in embarrassment. She knew she was a bright red, but it was nothing compared to the red of Himiko’s face, which now rivaled her hair.</p><p>“I-I think I should practice on actual balloons first, n-nyeh…” she stammered, then hid her face in her hands.</p><p>“Tch, your loss. Kaede’s balloons are a dream, though.”</p><p>“Miu, please, I’m begging you to stop.”</p><p>Even if Kaede <em>was</em> a little happy to hear that Miu did think so highly of her… balloons.</p>
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<a name="section0038"><h2>38. {Tenmaki} Maki doesn’t like the beach</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: The Sun</p><p>Tenko decides to bring Maki to the beach, and they get ready together in their hotel room they’re renting for the night.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tenko dragged her there against her will. Although to her credit, Maki hadn’t protested much other than questioning why she’d want to go to a place with nothing but wind and gritty sand and the noisy waves. Her questions were met with utter shock, and an insistence that the two of them had to go to the beach immediately.</p><p>So they did. Maki found it easier to go along with the excitable girl rather than outright refuse. She’d only been to the beach a few times, on missions, but she never developed a fondness for the place.</p><p>She changed in the bathroom of their hotel room, putting the bikini on underneath a sheer shirt and wraparound skirt knotted at her hip. Tenko wore a similar outfit, but chose to go without the shirt and wore the swimsuit top proudly. Maki averted her gaze when she saw it, the image making her stomach flutter nervously.</p><p>“What do you think?” Tenko asked, prompting Maki to force her eyes back onto her.</p><p>Trying hard not to let her eyes wander Tenko’s exposed creamy skin, and instead focusing them on Tenko’s bright expectant eyes, she said in the flattest tone possible, “You look good.”</p><p>Then she had to glance away again at how Tenko beamed in response, the other girl too bright to look at directly.</p><p>“Thank you! You look great too! Here, let me try doing your hair–a windswept braid would look <em>soooo</em> cute on you!”</p><p>Maki allowed her, kneeling on the ground as Tenko sat on the bed behind her. At first the hands at her head made her tense, making Tenko apologize profusely for a wrong that Maki knew she didn’t fully understand. Soon enough though, she found herself relaxing under the gentle comb of Tenko’s fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes, her breath slowed to an even pace as Tenko skillfully braided Maki’s length of hair.</p><p>Once she tied it off at the end, Maki opened her eyes again and turned to face Tenko. Her eyes gave Maki the once over, then she giggled in delighted approval of what she saw.</p><p>“I knew it! You’re so, so cute, Maki!”</p><p>Pouting softly, Maki turned her face away and pulled her long braid over her shoulder so that she could run her fingers restlessly over it, a self-soothing motion that she wouldn’t ever admit to needing. Something about Tenko’s generous praise embarrassed her. “Thank you…”</p><p>She could practically feel the warmth creep into her face, coloring her cheeks a dusty pink.</p>
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<a name="section0039"><h2>39. {Tenmiko} It doesn't have a happy ending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: White</p><p>Himiko sees personalities in shades of color.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Character death</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Himiko saw people in bright colors, their personalities a mosaic of clashing visuals that sometimes got so overwhelming that she had to pull her hat over her eyes to dull them out. The grays of bullies clashing with the yellows of their camaraderie with the in-group. Loud reds and dull blues filling the classrooms she frequented.</p><p>Then the cool earthy green of her master, tainted by a brighter and more nauseating green just before he walked out after one show and never came back. She blamed the new color on enemy mages, but internally she wondered if she hadn’t infected him herself.</p><p>When she met Tenko, she saw the girl in blinding white, with a personality so bright and so loud and so <em>persistent</em> that she had to duck her eyes immediately. Her first instinct was to hate her. How dare she be so bright and exhausting when the drag of Himiko’s everyday life weighed her down.</p><p>But Tenko didn’t leave her side, even when Himiko unfairly snapped at her. Instead she backed off a little, smiled reassuringly, and resolved to do better so that she could remain with Himiko a little longer.</p><p>And she was there, through her practicing magic to calm her nerves–</p><p>(”Himiko is so amazing! Such powerful magic!”)</p><p>–to her getting picked on by the other students.</p><p>(”Leave Himiko alone! She is a wonderful person and doesn’t deserve you attacking her like this.”)</p><p>Eventually, Tenko’s white became a little less blinding, and Himiko could look up into the warm green of her eyes without shading her face. She found herself looking forward to spending more time with the girl, even though she hardly showed it. She didn’t know <em>how</em> to express that she liked having Tenko by her side, and in a way took it for granted that the other girl wouldn’t leave.</p><p>“Himiko should smile more. Smile big and honestly when you feel like smiling!”</p><p>She didn’t know how to smile honestly, and the idea exhausted her. One day she would, maybe, just like one day she’d tell Tenko that she didn’t mind having her by her side, shading her every day’s with the brightness of her white.</p><p>But then someone extinguished the white, with red that bled from the back of her neck, and Himiko forever lost her chance. Those shades of white turned to blacks and blues that persisted through her every day.</p>
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<a name="section0040"><h2>40. {Kairochi} Only one bed and half asleep dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: gentle request for Kairochi because I love them sm</p><p>(Spy AU where Kaito and Kurochi are partners and share a bed a lot and don’t have feelings for each other.)</p><p>Both boys have a dream that feels very real in retrospect.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kairochi is my ship name for my OC Kurochi/Kaito</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The pressure around his middle roused him from sleep, and Kurochi woke up smothered with his face in Kaito’s chest. Too tired yet to react properly, he pulled back his head so that he could breathe in fresh air, hands pressed against Kaito to prevent his partner from crushing him back against his body.</p><p>“Mmph, Kaito,” he protested, voice thick from sleep.</p><p>His voice seemed to make Kaito stir, although he only shifted and tightened his arms around Kurochi’s waist. One of his legs snaked over his, effectively clinging to Kurochi as much as possible.</p><p>“<em>Kaito</em>.”</p><p>“Hmm?” The response wasn’t much, but it was something still.</p><p>Kurochi curled his fingers against Kaito’s chest, peering up at him. He hadn’t even opened his eyes. “Kaito, your squishin’ me,” he said, though it came out as a slur of words that he wasn’t sure were coherent.</p><p>“Mm-hm.”</p><p>Clearly Kaito hadn’t understood. After a bit of struggling, all of which failed to fully wake either of them, Kurochi decided he was too tired and half-asleep to deal with it anymore. He gave up, and let Kaito pull him back in until their bodies were flush. Anyone else, the closeness would bother him, but this was Kaito. His partner. They’d been in tighter situations than this before.</p><p>Well, no. They hadn’t actually; he was pretty sure this was the closest together the two had ever been, but still. This was fine, other than the heat of his own breath that quickly made him uncomfortable.</p><p>He turned his face to the side.</p><p>Once his struggling ended, Kaito nestled his face into the top of his head, which he normally wouldn’t note compared to the combination of both of Kaito’s arms and one leg currently wrapped around Kurochi’s body, but then he felt Kaito’s lips move in what seemed a very purposeful kiss to his forehead.</p><p>“Huh? Kaito?”</p><p>“Mm, gnight baby.” His voice was heavy, words low and murmured, but the content was unmistakable.</p><p>A warm blush began to creep across Kurochi’s face. ‘<em>Baby</em>’? Where did that come from?</p><p>But he wouldn’t get anymore answers from Kaito. His partner had fallen dead asleep, leaving Kurochi alone with his rapidly beating heart and the hyper-awareness of how close the leg thrown around his brought their bodies together. The only thing left to do was to bury his face back into Kaito’s chest and hope the lack of air put him to sleep before he caught on fire with the heat burning inside him.</p><hr/><p>Kurochi woke up sweaty, but alone.</p><p>Not <em>alone</em> alone, but Kaito hadn’t tied himself in knots around him. Instead he slept soundly on the opposite side of the bed, arms wrapped around a pillow and snoring softly. The sight reminded him of the night before and his heart began to race.</p><p>It seemed hazy now, the morning after, like a dream–wait. <em>Had</em> it been a dream? It didn’t feel real, especially the kiss and the way Kaito had called him ‘baby’. Dear god, if it had been a dream, then why would Kurochi’s unconscious mind conjure up something like that? Maybe it was all the time they were spending together. Yeah…</p><p>He brought a pillow over his face and used it to muffle his helpless groan. Dream or not, the memory of Kaito’s body pressed tightly against his would haunt him through the day.</p><hr/><p>Kaito could barely look at Kurochi while they got ready for their mission.</p><p>He kept sneaking secretive glances at the other, watching his partner bend to dig something out of a drawer. Bits of his hair had escaped his ponytail and fallen across his face, and Kaito held back the urge to brush it gently back for him.</p><p>His dream last night had been a vivid one. He’d been in bed with Kurochi, as they often were, and had the overwhelming desire to be as close as possible to the other. Dragging him in close, he’d pressed a tender kiss to the top of his head and murmured out sweet words good night. He’d thought about how much he cared for the boy in his arms, and just wanted him safe and protected and close.</p><p>“Kaito? What do you think about this?” Kurochi’s voice startled him out of the memory of his dream.</p><p>Kaito jumped, realizing with a start that he’d been staring. With a quick glance to the small device in Kurochi’s hand–a small bug that they’d be able to eavesdrop into a room after planting it–he averted his gaze. He prayed that his guilty thoughts weren’t present on his face.</p><p>“I don’t see why not,” he said after clearing his throat. “It doesn’t take up too much space, might as well.”</p><p>“Right…” Kurochi pocketed it, but Kaito could still feel his eyes on him. After a moment where neither of them said anything, he asked, “Are you alright?”</p><p>“Yeah! Never better, I feel great!” Kaito lied, his heart pounding out against his ribcage as if to tell Kurochi so. Maybe it even was–did Kurochi know morse code? “Why? How about you?”</p><p>Because he wasn’t looking, he didn’t notice how Kurochi’s eyes darted away.</p><p>“Yep! Slept really well, I’m ready for the mission!”</p><p>Kaito nodded, hoping that in time his racing heart would calm and he could focus on the mission ahead of them. Only that, and not the fact that he could practically feel how perfectly Kurochi fit against him when they laid down together. In the dream, that was.</p><p>“Great! Yeah that’s… yeah. Let’s get going, then!”</p>
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<a name="section0041"><h2>41. {Shuochi} Lbr Kurochi deserves all the love he can get</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Some Shuochi now because I do what I want. Nothing much, just some kisses between Rochi and Shuichi.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shuochi is a ship name for my OC Kurochi/Shuichi</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Caution held them apart, the inches between their faces the last little thread keeping them back. Two pairs of eyes–one violet, one a warm almost-golden grey–searched the other’s face for any tells of discomfort. Time slowed to a stop, neither boy daring to even breathe for fear of upsetting the balance between them.</p><p>Kurochi moved first, splaying his fingers out against Shuichi’s chest. Slowly, he moved in until his lips pressed against Shuichi’s in a tentative kiss.</p><p>Just like that, the thread snapped.</p><p>Shuichi returned the kiss, pressing their mouths more firmly together. He had a hand at Kurochi’s back, encouraging the smaller boy closer in silent gesture, and Kurochi took to it without complaint. Leaning in, he wrapped both arms around Shuichi’s neck, bringing their chests flush.</p><p>Both their hearts were pounding in their chests, matching heat rising to their cheeks.</p><p>Shuichi slid his hand downward, feeling his way down the other’s back. When he reached Kurochi’s waist, fingers brushing the waistband of his pants, he froze and drew back. Panic had darted across his face, morphing into a swift apology for some unstated boundary he believed himself to have crossed.</p><p>“Sorry, sorry,” he murmured out, pulling his hand away.</p><p>“It’s fine,” Kurochi said immediately, eyes locked onto his in a heated stare. He withdrew his arms, taking Shuichi’s hands in his. With them, he traced a path down his sides, and pressed them low on his hips. As he did so, he scanned Shuichi’s face for any line that <em>he</em> might overstep. “This is fine?”</p><p>“This is fine,” Shuichi said in a whisper, and pulled Kurochi in for another kiss, his thumbs tracing the curve of his body.</p>
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<a name="section0042"><h2>42. {Oumota} Threads of the past like echoes fading into the distance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: You know me too well with oumota</p><p>Fish bait rules, related to a possible au where Kokichi is human and Kurochi is also a mermaid still and at one point they’d both been mermaids. Continued a short time after <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23971675/chapters/62224534">this</a></p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kokichi hadn’t moved since he threw himself down into bed, proclaiming loudly that he was going to sleep then lapsing into a heavy silence. Kaito felt it deep in his chest, a pang of sympathy in his heart for the other. It hadn’t been an easy day, and he wished that he knew how to make things better.</p><p>“Hey, Kokichi…you awake?”</p><p>He met only silence from the other. Yet the longer he watched Kokichi’s stiff back, the irregular rise and fall of the blanket thrown over his body, the less he believed that Kokichi really was asleep. And so, frowning, he scooted over to the other side of the bed and wrapped his eyes around him. Kokichi tensed slightly in his embrace, and thus knew he was caught.</p><p>“How’d you guess?” Kokichi muttered, relaxing again into Kaito’s arms. His back fit like a puzzle to the front of Kaito’s body as he wrapped his arms more securely around him.</p><p>“Just did.” He shrugged. “Didn’t think you’d find it so easy to sleep after… all that today.”</p><p>“Nee-heehee, you just know me so well, don’t you?” he chimed out, but the laugh was dry and humorless. Then, after a quiet moment, he said, “I can’t believe that mermaid… that’s…”</p><p>“Yeah, I know.”</p><p>Kaito almost wanted to punch that bastard. Not the mermaid, of course, but the guy who had insisted on bringing him and Kokichi to meet it. To meet him. The mermaid had Kokichi’s face, almost an exact copy with minor differences other than the usual fins and scales of a cursed fishperson. He and Kokichi could’ve been twins, in another life.</p><p>And just maybe they were, when they were both human.</p><p>“I keep thinking that… I should let him be human instead of me. Something inside me is saying that he deserves it more, that I’m a horrible person for taking that life away from him.” Kokichi stared straight ahead as he spoke, unnaturally still. “Am I… a bad person because I don’t want to give this up? Maybe he <em>does</em> deserve it more…”</p><p>Squeezing Kokichi as tightly as he could without hurting him, Kaito responded immediately, “Of course you’re not. Who would want to do that? He doesn’t deserve it anymore than you do–you deserve a life just as much as he does.”</p><p>Yet Kokichi didn’t answer him right away, and Kaito got the sense that he didn’t entirely believe him. “What happened to us? If we were family before, when we were humans, then what happened? Why did we give that all up?”</p><p>He sounded lost. Kaito hugged him tightly, holding him so close that he’d join together with Kokichi if it were possible.</p><p>“I don’t know… I wish I could help you find out, though.”</p><p>A long silence followed that. The occasional sound of cars passing on the streets filled the time between their words. Kaito became aware of his own beating heart, and of Kokichi just barely trembling against him. He thought about the humanity Kokichi had, and how he’d gone through so much to get it. Then he thought about that mermaid, about Kurochi, who’d looked just as stunned to see Kokichi as Kokichi was to see him.</p><p>And though he wanted to punch Jaden for bringing them together, deep down he knew it wasn’t that guy’s fault. He only cared deeply for Kurochi, just as Kaito cared for Kokichi.</p><p>When Kokichi next spoke, his voice was so quiet that Kaito nearly missed it when it came forth.</p><p>“I guess maybe it’s better that we never know.”</p>
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<a name="section0043"><h2>43. {No Ship Miu-centric} Flashes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>From childhood to coma, worthless to worth something.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>CW for sexual abuse/harassment, slight suicidal ideation, and of course a coma</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her parents made her go play outside, so she took her handheld game out to play. She shoved it into the waistband of her jeans–either too loose around the hips or too short in the legs–and tried her best to disguise the box-shaped lump in her side as she slunk out the front door.</p><p>Once a safe enough distance away where they wouldn’t be able to just peek out the window to see that she was not running and jumping and frolicking as they no-doubt expected her to, she found a nice shady tree to sit beneath and peeled the console away from her sweaty skin. Her butt thumped against the ground and she flipped it open. And as soon as the light came on, she was entranced.</p><p>What did her parents think she’d do outside anyway? It wasn’t like Miu had friends to play with.</p><p>—————————-</p><p>“Don’t you have anything better to do than play around on your computer all day?”</p><p>Miu hunched her shoulders, finger tapping against the mouse with the urge to close out of the window. She didn’t, because that would only make her mom demand to see what she did, and while Miu wasn’t doing anything <em>bad</em>, she still preferred her privacy above everything.</p><p>She scowled at the monitor and didn’t say anything. While she pretended to read the page, her mom continued as if she hadn’t realized she was being ignored.</p><p>“What happened to that nice boy who came over earlier? What was his name?”</p><p>Nausea rose to her throat. “Hiroki.”</p><p>“Right, him. Why don’t you spend time with him instead of sitting in front of the computer? He was so sweet when he came over for dinner the other night.”</p><p>Miu swallowed back against bile, clammy and sick even while her expression remained completely impassive. She didn’t respond, nor did she need to. Her mom’s nagging turned into static as her mind went numb, and the striking of her nail as she tapped the mouse grew so loud that her ears rang.</p><p>Of course both of her parents loved him. In front of them, he was sweet and charming and spoke highly both of them and of Miu. After dinner though, behind closed doors, he’d groped her until she felt thoroughly used. Although he did little else than touch her, and pull down the scoop of her neckline until she sat humiliated with her breasts exposed, it didn’t change how dirty she felt. How terrified.</p><p>She let him, though. Even put on a show sometimes, at his request. Because if she didn’t, then he threatened to tell other people about what a used-up slut she was… along with the assurance that plenty of guys would snap up tainted goods like hers, and they wouldn’t be as nice.</p><p>There was little good in her arrangement with Hiroki, but at least she could pretend that someone found a bit of value in her. Even if it was the same attention she got since her breasts grew in. Her growth skewed younger, and came with plenty of issues. Such as guys like him…</p><p>“Miu? Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”</p><p>She jerked her head in a vague motion of acknowledgement. “Whatever you say, mom.”</p><p>—————————-</p><p>Shortly into highschool, Miu joined a robotics club out of curiosity. She half-expected a roomful of nerds ogling her chest, like most other guys did. Only half true. The room was filled with nerds, but they were too busy with their noses pressed into cogs and machine bits to ogle.</p><p>She stayed. She learned about putting together machines. Soon enough, she grew fixated on building. After that day, she continued attending each meeting, looking forward to it more than she looked forward to her own breath. Even if she didn’t have the creativity to think up stuff on her own, the act of building and creating made her feel worth something.</p><p>Within two days, the robotics club meetings were her favorite times of any day. If she didn’t have that, she was pretty sure she would’ve offed herself or something. She had nothing else going on in this shitty life anyway.</p><p>—————————-</p><p>Hiroki moved schools, but there were always other Hirokis. An ass by any other name…</p><p>She’d be damned if she gave them a timid little girl to screw around with.</p><p>—————————-</p><p>Miu didn’t remember the car ride. She remembered vague sensations of floating, and then a long period of lying still. The nothingness pressed in around her, and her limbs prickled with the need to move. For an eternity she had only the darkness and her mind to accompany her.</p><p>Flashes of memories sometimes popped in. The robotics club. Machines. Inventions that could benefit the human race, if only she had the know-how and creativity to do so.</p><p>Her fingers twitched at the flood of determination that rushed through her. <em>She</em> could make those devices. She’d be worth more than as a plaything. The inventions that bounced around her head begged to be released to the world.</p><p>She only had to wake up.</p>
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<a name="section0044"><h2>44. {Kirukiyo} To care for your workaholic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: For the 100 prompts thing, can I have number 34? (Please wake up). Danganronpa, rarepair, Kirumi x Korekiyo. Please and thank you.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A hand passed over her forehead, pushing back the hair that clung to her sweaty face. She groaned, unable to do much more than shift underneath the contact. She wanted it to leave, so that she could sink back into her feverish dreams.</p><p>“Please wake up.” The voice, cool as water tipped over her heated skin, washed over her. Kirumi just managed to crack her eyes open, to find Korekiyo standing at her side.</p><p>Kirumi made great efforts to sit up, but her muscles remained weak and fatigued and so she didn’t get far. Her voice cracked when she tried to speak, and she failed to disguise the unbecoming croak. “Kiyo…? What…?”</p><p>“You need to take some medicine. Perhaps something to drink as well… then you may sleep again after that.”</p><p>Without waiting for a response, he assisted her into an upright position then, reaching outside of her narrow view, pressed a glass of water into her hands. She made no complaints, sipping at the throat-soothing liquid within. Nor did she protest the medicine he gave her to take. Only once she felt capable of speaking without making a fool of herself did she apologize for the work she’d put on his shoulders.</p><p>“I’m really sorry about this.” She felt his hand resting between her shoulder blades. Normally this would embarrass her, but for now it was a necessary evil. After all, without his steady hand, she’d doubtless sink back into the mattress, her evident weakness humiliating. “You shouldn’t have to do this all for me.”</p><p>“Nonsense. All creatures in this world have their off-days. Even the ultimate maid is allowed to fall ill and have someone assist her from time to time.” He replaced the glass with a measured out amount of medicine once she stopped drinking. Then, after she’d steeled herself and took it down in one shot, he continued. “No one would doubt that you’re incredibly capable. Needing help sometimes only makes you human–and that’s a good thing, I assure you.”</p><p>Protests rose to her lips, only to die as she faced the logic of his words. She sighed. “I suppose you’re right… however…”</p><p>“Your pride and independence is a beautiful thing, Kirumi, but you should really accept help when you so obviously need it. For your sake.” Although his mask hid away his lips, the corners of his eyes crinkled in a smile, a touch of sympathy in their golden depths.</p><p>Normally she’d protest, denying her pride as anything but a servant to others. A sudden wave of dizziness silenced her, however, and she groaned softly as her eyes slammed shut against the spinning room around her.</p><p>“…I can’t argue with that,” she murmured, and meant it just as literally as she did figuratively. “I think I should rest for a little while longer. Thank you for taking care of me.”</p>
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<a name="section0045"><h2>45. {Tenkaito} Just a sparring session</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Thought about how Kaito and Tenko would bond over sparring. So wrote this with TenKaito in mind (Tenko/Kaito). Not much to say other than that.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The fist shot towards her. She knocked it away with a strong arm. Then her guard came back up, balance sunk lower to the ground. Her weight shifted from one foot to the other, light and bouncy and ready to spring back if she had to. The fight had begun to wear on Tenko, her breath coming in quick gasps.</p><p>Kaito wasn’t much better, though. His chest heaved, fists tight and held close to his body. Burning purple eyes fixed onto her, intent and studying her movements to anticipate the next. In any other situation, the intensity of his gaze might make her feel a little breathless, though she still didn’t know why that was.</p><p>Now however, while she <em>was</em> breathless, if had nothing to do with bright lilac eyes.</p><p>She lurched forward. A feinted punch, his sluggish attempt to block, her big chance. Tenko slipped through his guard. Grabbing him, she twisted her body–and his came with it.</p><p>“<em>Hyah!</em>!” she screamed in the effort as she flipped Kaito over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground.</p><p>He grunted, screwing his eyes shut. That was all the sound that he could make, with the wind knocked out of him like that. She released him and stood straight, dusting off her skirt.</p><p>“There… there you go.” She had a bit of trouble catching her breath enough to speak, but she persevered. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face. She wiped it on the back of her hand. “Told you… I wouldn’t lose to a degenerate.”</p><p>For a while, Kaito didn’t respond. If Tenko found it hard to catch her breath, he must have it worse after getting thrown onto his back. She waited patiently, and took the time to kneel beside him. When Kaito had approached her asking to spar, she’d been skeptical of his motives at first. He’d insisted that it was purely for fun, to get some needed energy out. So despite her doubts, she agreed.</p><p>After all, she enjoyed a good sparring session, and Kaito had been a fun match.</p><p>Then suddenly, Kaito burst into breathless laughter.</p><p>She started. “Wh-what’s that for?!” she demanded. Was he thinking less of her? Or–?</p><p>Kaito didn’t give her the chance to speculate. “That was… great!” he exclaimed, clearly making an effort not to sound winded and failing. “You’re… so strong. You really made me fight… as hard as I could.”</p><p>Her heart swelled with pride at the praise. “Well duh! I’ve been training hard every day! I have to be strong, to protect girls from the lecherous grip of men!”</p><p>Even as she said that, she was smiling.</p><p>He grinned up at her, awfully sunny for a man who just got his butt handed to him. Even so, she found herself grinning back before long. She couldn’t help it. His smiles were just too infectious, shining with force of a star that others couldn’t help but reflect back. Even Tenko.</p><p>His hand brushed her leg on its way up to brush sweat-soaked hair from his face. Tenko shivered at the brief contact–a ghosting touch that she doubted Kaito even noticed. Oddly enough, the fluttering in her stomach wasn’t full of the heebie-jeebies she’d normally expect from contact with a man.</p><p>Even more though, Tenko found that she understood people better after throwing them. After a good sparring match. And after sparring with Kaito, and slamming him against the ground, she felt that she understood him better now that she ever did before. With his burning purple eyes and his easygoing nature and his infectious laugh, Kaito seemed like a pretty good guy.</p><p>For a male, obviously.</p><p>“Let’s do it again sometime,” he said, and reached up a hand to her.</p><p>She hesitated a brief moment, then took his hand. Standing up, she helped pull him up to his feet along with her. His hand was warm, skin heated from the activity, and a little sweaty, but his grip was firm. Nice in hers.</p><p>And the more she thought about it, the harder her heart thudded in her ears.</p><p>Must be getting sick or something. She pulled her hand away, perhaps a little too quickly, but didn’t look at his face to see if any hurt crossed his expression.</p><p>“Yeah! Let’s! I’m not gonna go easy on you next time either, you better believe that!”</p><p>He grinned.</p><p>“Right, you better fight just as hard next time, too!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. {Oumaede} Bed hog</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: "The dog takes up more of the bed than I do" or "Where are you going? It's late" + oumaede, please</p><p>Kaede and Kokichi don’t share a bed very well.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sleeping together was a mistake.</p><p>Literally that. Sleeping together, no euphemisms, nothing else, and yet Kaede felt that she’d regret it in the morning even so. In fact, she felt it right in her back, which was where Kokichi’s foot was digging into her spine.</p><p>And she couldn’t take it anymore. With a groan, she reached back to grab his ankle, thin in her hand, and yanked it off of her spine with a little more force than was necessary.</p><p>“Kokichi, I <em>swear</em>–”</p><p>“It’s not my fault! You’re taking up so much of the bed,” he whine back, already anticipating her complaints and intercepting them.</p><p>“I do not! The dog takes up more of the bed than me.”</p><p>“Nuh-uh, the dog’s not even here.”</p><p>“Yeah-huh, the only reason it’s not is because you keep squirming around and made it leave.”</p><p>“Not true, that was you squirming around–hey!” Kokichi sat up when Kaede threw the blankets off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you going?”</p><p>She sat on the edge of the bed, shivering harshly as her bare feet touched the freezing floor. This might’ve been a bigger mistake than letting Kokichi talk her into bed. Again, only in the literal sense.</p><p>“I’m going to sleep on the couch. Ugh this was just…”</p><p>A mistake, but she trailed off before she said that much. Behind her, she heard a dramatic sniffle, and knew that Kokichi was working up his tears. They’d be fake, of course, but that didn’t stop them from tapping right into her empathy.</p><p>“Kaeeede, please don’t leave me! You can’t leave, it’s too late.”</p><p>She turned back to give him a look. “Only if you don’t hog the bed. I swear I’ll leave. I’ll go home even, I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night.”</p><p>“I’ll be good. I pwomise.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes, but decided that satisfactory. Anyway, she didn’t <em>really</em> want to leave if she could help it. Scooting backwards, she pulled the blanket back over herself and laid down next to him.</p><p>“Last chance, I swear Kokichi…” she murmured, and closed her eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0047"><h2>47. {No Ship Twins AU} The final fateful act</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Prompt 15 with the Ouma twins? (To make things more interesting, how about an Au where Kurochi is a part of the Future Foundation and is ordered to kill any members of the Remnants of Despair? Unfortunately, he encounters Kokichi who is a member of the notorious group.) P.S Your writing is amazing!</p><p>15. I don’t want to hurt you</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For context: because of the events surrounding Kokichi becoming a remnant of despair in a twins au situation, Kokichi believes that Kurochi has been tortured and murdered.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They didn’t tell him.</p><p>How easy had it been to give that order, whether or not Future Foundation had known the identities of the Remnants of Despair? Which was better, which was worse, when Kurochi had been directed to bloody his hands in the name of saving society? And what did they expect a muted, broken person to do when face-to-face with his own twin brother?</p><p>A twin who had a gun to Kurochi’s head.</p><p>“How <em>dare</em> you wear that face! You imposter you–… you–…” The gun in his gloved hand jerked closer. Its image swam in Kurochi’s vision. “How fucking dare you pretend to be him!”</p><p>Kokichi’s voice, a sharp cocktail of anger and grief, sliced through Kurochi’s ears without landing. He couldn’t get out of his own head. His own thoughts that raced through at a million miles an hour.</p><p>His twin brother, alive and in front of him after months–</p><p>–over a year even? Longer?</p><p>                                                 A Remnant of Despair</p><p>                                                      He had to <em>kill</em> Remnants of Despair–</p><p>             (That Remnant was his brother)</p><p>
  <em>The urge to hug,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>the touch-revulsion of his ruined body,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>the need to be close to Kokichi again,</em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>the gun leveled at his head.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>“K-Kii-chi,” he choked out, shaking as the tears welled up in his eyes.</p><p>“Shut up! You don’t get to use that name, using <em>that voice</em>!” He could see Kokichi’s eyes watering as well, his own hand shaking even as it held the gun firmly on target.</p><p>Kurochi should say something; Kokichi didn’t believe he was him, that he was really alive, and so he should say something to fix that. So that he could tell him how badly he missed him, how every day only the thought of reuniting with his brother could lower the volume on his constant thoughts of suicide. But here, in this critical moment, he found nothing.</p><p>His mind blank.</p><p>His throat closed up.</p><p>His voice silent.</p><p>And his orders, in the very back of his head, telling him what he had to do.</p><p><em>‘I don’t want to hurt you’</em>–almost a plea, though it never made it to his lips.</p><p>Kurochi closed his eyes and the tears spilled forth, staining his cheeks as they rolled down to his chin. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything, say anything to his brother, even when he was in grief. Even when he was in despair. Even when Kokichi at least deserved to know that his identity was true, that Kurochi still lived.</p><p>Wasn’t it selfish, to rather die now than hurt, kill, lose Kokichi?</p><p>He should say something–</p><p>–but he couldn’t.</p><p>
  <em>Sorry</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sorry</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry.</em>
</p><p>                                      (God what a horrible big brother he was to the very end.)</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0048"><h2>48. {Saioumota} What does survivor's guilt mean to someone in a fake experience</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I really like your blog and the way you write/understand the characters (esp Kokichi). Could you do a scenario of Shuichi having intense nightmares (night after night) of Kokichi's and Kaito's "death" (V.R AU situation) and Kokichi and Kaito work together to comfort him. I have this theory that even though the game ended, he's the one going through a lot of PTSD because he made it to the end. Something like that. Thanks.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>Kaito’s brushed his damp hair from his forehead in response. “Nothing to be sorry about.”</p><p>“You apologize too much for things that aren’t even your fault, Shuichi,” Kokichi said, his voice muffled from shoving his face into Shuichi’s chest.</p><p>He didn’t mean it in a way that blamed him, Shuichi knew, yet he still felt the swirling guilt in his gut deepen. Too apologetic, too jumpy, too–.</p><p>“Not that we blame you for it,” Kaito cut in through his thoughts, as if he could read them. Kokichi hummed an affirmative, the thin arms wrapped around his waist squeezing.</p><p>Pressed up against Shuichi’s back, he could feel the rise and fall of Kaito’s chest as he breathed. Kaito behind him, Kokichi laying on top of him, being squeezed between his two boyfriends should’ve made him feel better. On some level it did. Yet all he could think about was the nightmare he’d startled awake from, jerking violently in the bed and waking them both.</p><p>Remembering that he should’ve done better. Should’ve tried harder. Should’ve–.</p><p>“Shuu, hey. <em>Hey</em>, look here, look at me.”</p><p>Shuichi hadn’t realized that he’d begun to hyperventilate until Kokichi snapped him out of his thoughts, emerging from his chest with a firm word and gentle hand on his cheek. All at once he stopped breathing, staring wide-eyed into those steady violet eyes.</p><p>                  (A dream where <em>he’d</em> pulled some kind of lever, crushed him, felt the warm blood ooze between his fingers–)</p><p>He jerked in place with a shuddering gasp. At Kaito and Kokichi’s direction, he focused on his breathing. Slow, deep, even, pay attention to the hand on his cheek, soft and warm and alive, to the deepness of the color in Kokichi’s eyes, how he could pick out dozens of shades of purple that made up their normal color if he looked closely enough–</p><p>–Shuichi hadn’t even died, back in the game.</p><p>Tears welled up in his eyes. He felt so ashamed of his weakness, that he needed comfort from the two that should need it more than him. “I’m sorry,” he said again, for that this time instead of for waking them up.</p><p>Kaito kissed the top of his head. “Shh, it’s ok, Shuichi, it’s ok,” he murmured without pulled away, the whisper of his lips moving against his hair.</p><p>Kokichi followed suit with a peck to his forehead–</p><p>                                                    (–his forehead was so sweaty, it couldn’t be pleasant–)</p><p>–and settled back into Shuichi’s limp arms. So fragile on top of him, yet an undeniable weight that reassured Shuichi that he was real. That Kaito and Kokichi were both here, both alive. Even if he struggled to participate like the other two did. Even if he was jumpy, sometimes clingy, sometimes aloof. Even if he didn’t quite feel like he fit in, or like he deserved them at all.</p><p>He (selfishly) still wanted them by his side.</p><p>“Do you want tea? Water? You should drink water, you’re all sweaty so you’re dehydrated and stuff,” Kokichi asked him, turning his head to look up at his face.</p><p>Shuichi thought about it for a second, then shook his head. “No… thank you. I just want this. Only this…”</p><p>And for now, the warmth and the weight of their living bodies against his was just enough.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0049"><h2>49. {Saioumota} Kaito is definitely not jealous of a dog</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: “I love cuddling with you first thing in the morning.” - Saioumota!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi woke up to a heavy weight flopping onto his side–and not one of his boyfriends.</p><p>He grunted, nudging the weight off of him so that he could sit up. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he was surprised to see Kaito still in the bed. The other wasn’t looking at him, sitting up at the opposite edge. Instead, his eyes were on the center, where Kokichi had thrown an arm over the dog they’d gotten a few months back.</p><p>“Aww, who’s a good puppy?” he cooed, rubbing the top of the dog’s head, whose tail thumped wildly against Shuichi’s blanket-clad leg. “I love cuddling with you first thing in the morning.”</p><p>“Geez, you gotta be this noisy every morning?” Kaito muttered, rubbing the back of his head.</p><p>Shuichi glanced back up at him, surprised at the hardness of his response. Studying his face, however, and the underlying longing beneath his expression, Shuichi’s lips twitched in amusement. “Are you jealous?”</p><p>Kaito sputtered, prompting Kokichi to look up from where he had his face nuzzled into the dog’s fur.</p><p>“Oooh? Is Kaito jeawous of our pupper?”</p><p>“Fuck off, I’m not!”</p><p>Kokichi rolled over and reached up to clumsily pat Kaito’s cheek. Never once did the shit-eating grin slide from his face, though his voice was thick with faux-sympathy. “Don’t worry Kaito, I still wuv you way more!”</p><p>Kaito batted the hand away. “Cut the bullshit, I swear Kokichi.”</p><p>“Aww you rejecting my love hurts,” Kokichi said without a bit of sympathy, then proceeded to giggle and wrap both arms around the dog. “But that’s a lie. I didn’t want any hugs anyway. All I need is this good boy–oof!”</p><p>Kaito laid down on top of Kokichi, his arms engulfing both him and the dog. He ignored Kokichi’s weak protests, trapping the other close against his chest. Shuichi couldn’t help but smile as he watched. The liveliness of his boyfriends each day amused him–things would be boring without these daily shenanigans.</p><p>Then Kaito raised an arm towards him, and he blinked.</p><p>“Well?” he prompted after Shuichi only stared uncomprehendingly at him. “You gonna join or what?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0050"><h2>50. {Saioumota} Work trips</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: would saioumota with “it’s lonely without you in the bed” be okay? your writings so far have been great!! they've been such a joy to read. &lt;3 try not to burn yourself out though, yeah?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi returned to his hotel room exhausted, back aching and limbs aching for a hot shower. Later, though, because the lure of the bed overtook the lure of a shower. He made a beeline for it and, the moment he came within range, flopped onto the mattress with a long sigh.</p><p>But in the silence of the room, the sounds on the street outside coming through the walls muffled and muted, it didn’t take long for the loneliness to creep in.</p><p>And just as it did, his phone rang.</p><p>He glanced at the name before he answered, smiling when he saw ‘Kokichi’ on his screen. “Hello?”</p><p>“Shuuuu, are you back in your room yet?” Kokichi’s cheerful voice met his ear, and he could imagine his lively eyes looking into his. “You better be, if you overwork yourself I’m gonna make Kaito go over there and make you stop. Right Kaito?”</p><p>The last question was quieter as Kokichi turned his head away from the receiver, then it was back again.</p><p>“Yep! Kaito agrees with me!”</p><p>“I didn’t say anything!” Kaito’s protest made him laugh softly, close enough for Shuichi to hear him. Maybe sitting right next to Kokichi, close enough that their thighs were touching. Or maybe Kokichi in Kaito’s lap. He really enjoyed that position.</p><p>A pang of loneliness hit him, fond as the mental image was.</p><p>“Yes I’m back. I’m going to take a shower soon, then probably read a bit before I go to bed,” Shuichi responded, although that first bit might end up being a lie. His body was screaming in protest at the idea, and he was tempted to skip bathing altogether just to sleep right away.</p><p>“Good, good, I guess Kaito can stay home after all. Oh, oh, guess what happened today!”</p><p>“Kokichi, don’t you dare!”</p><p>Shuichi smiled as Kokichi ignored Kaito and launched into an explanation of the day. It wasn’t anything that he’d consider overly embarrassing, only a story of Kaito being scared by a leaf that fell from the tree. And how he’d ‘screamed higher than his baby girl cousin’. Which Shuichi wasn’t aware that Kokichi had cousins at all, let alone baby ones, and when he said as much Kokichi admitted that it’d been a lie.</p><p>“Just a little one though. Kaito really did scream like that.”</p><p>“I did <em>not</em>!”</p><p>Ironically, Shuichi was inclined to believe Kokichi more in this instance.</p><p>Soon enough, the question that Shuichi had been wondering himself came up. Kaito was the wrong to bring it up, and he imagined the taller man leaning over Kokichi’s shoulder to speak directly into the phone.</p><p>“When do you think you’re coming back?” he asked.</p><p>Kokichi supplemented his question with, “Kaito says it’s lonely without you in the bed.”</p><p>“That’s actually what Kokichi says,” Kaito said, no doubt with a warning glare in Kokichi’s direction, “but it’s true. It’s not the same without you here.”</p><p>Shuichi’s expression softened. He looked out the window, at the unfamiliar scenery outside the hotel. He wished that he could look at their faces–soon, he told himself.</p><p>“I’m not sure yet,” he said, regret filling his voice. “I think the case is wrapping up, but no promises. I’ll let you guys know as soon as I do.”</p><p>Or he’d surprise them by returning home without announcement. The thought of their faces lighting up when he walked through the door warmed his chest.</p><p>“I hope it’s soon! Kaito snores when you’re gone and it keeps me up aaaaalll night!”</p><p>“I don’t snore!”</p><p>Kokichi gave a dramatic sniff. “It’s so horrible, Shuichi, you need to come save me.”</p><p>Shuichi laughed softly into the receiver as Kaito continued to protest. He missed his boyfriends more than anything in that moment.</p><p>“I hope it’s soon too. Thanks for calling me though, I love you guys.”</p><p>After they’d said their goodbyes and ‘I love you’s in return, Shuichi hung up his phone with a persistent smile on his face. For now, his loneliness was held at bay as he imagined finally being back home with the people he loved, and the ones who loved him back. Kokichi had called him at just the right time. He’d work hard and make sure to return to them soon.</p><p>For now though, he thought as he forced himself back up off the bed, he had a shower and then book with his name on them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0051"><h2>51. {Jadochi} Coping with hell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: “If you have a nightmare, I’m going to be right here for you.” Jadochi</p><p>Meant to take place after <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/20843066/chapters/49547660#workskin">this fic</a> Rylie wrote.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi continued to pace the length of his room, even as exhaustion sapped away the strength in his limbs. His eyes felt swollen and tired from crying, a headache building up in his temple. And yet he couldn’t rest, not when his thoughts bounced against the inside of his skull.</p><p>Jaden sat on the bed–really the only thing currently in Kurochi’s new room, aside from an opened box and a bag thrown into the corner–his eyes following him as he crossed the room then moved back again. Although Kurochi kept his eyes fixed on the ground as it moved underneath his feet, out of his peripheries he saw the worried furrow of his boyfriend’s brows.</p><p>Then he raised a hand and Kurochi froze midstep, swinging his face to look in his direction.</p><p>The deer-in-headlights look stuck onto his expression must have unnerved Jaden, who hesitated before he finally signed, “Come lay down with me.”</p><p>Just the thought made him yawn. Kurochi quickly turned his head away in a failed attempt at hiding it. “I don’t want to. Not yet,” he said, chewing on his lower lip.</p><p>He could feel the frown boring a hole into the back of his head. Sheepish, Kurochi returned his eyes to Jaden.</p><p>“Come rest. Please.” His hands emphasized his plea, and the worry in those soft brown features immediately making Kurochi feel guilty for putting it there.</p><p>Kurochi looked down at his own hands, pale and shaking even though the problem that had brought them there had long since passed. Without realizing, his breathing picked up. “Ok…”</p><p>The last thing he wanted was to lie down. He’d fall asleep quickly, but that was what he was afraid of. To sleep and then to dream. About <em>that</em> even, he thought with a shiver.</p><p>Regardless, he approached the bed, and allowed Jaden to take him into his arms. Firm with the reassurance that he would protect Kurochi, yet gentle and loving as he always treated him. Kurochi sat with his thigh touching his, draping his arms around Jaden’s waist and resting his cheek against his shoulder. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the warmth of Jaden’s body against his.</p><p>Jaden had a hand on his shoulder, the other at his waist. When he drew his thumb over the curve of his hip, Kurochi shivered again, pulling back slightly. The movement ceased, eyes studying him.</p><p>Kurochi wrinkled his nose. “Do you smell that?”</p><p>A questioning look. Kurochi began to shift restlessly in Jaden’s arms, pulling at his own shirt to sniff at it. The smell of that cologne–his birth father’s favorite–lingered, yet didn’t get any stronger no matter how he searched for the source.</p><p>“It’s… it’s that smell,” he explained unhelpfully. Jerking his head, he looked right, and then left, eyes wide but not seeing any of the room. He couldn’t push down his unease. “His–it’s <em>his</em>.”</p><p>There was nothing though, not anywhere, not on him or on Jaden, and the shake of Jaden’s head confirmed that. Kurochi choked on a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh.</p><p>“I–I smell it like we’re still in that house. Like he’s here,” Kurochi said, tears welling up in his eyes. Now he couldn’t breath, something in his chest twisting into knots. He dug his fingers into Jaden’s sweater. “I-if I–If I sleep then what if… what i-if–…?”</p><p>Jaden’s hands rested on either side of his face, gently pulling him out of the beginning of a sharp downward spiral. Kurochi froze, eyes locked onto Jaden’s face. A tear squeezed out the corner of his eye, rolling down his cheek.</p><p>Jaden pressed his lips to his forehead.</p><p>“If you do have a nightmare, I’m going to be right here for you,” Jaden told him, signing with deliberate slowness. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”</p><p>More tears managed to escape. Sobbing, Kurochi nodded and threw himself back into Jaden’s arms. It didn’t do anything for the persistent guilt he felt for not being able to do more work, but if nothing else he had Jaden with him. The love of his life. Warm, gentle, safe.</p><p>As he buried his face in his chest, Jaden maneuvered them both so that they were laying down on the bed. Kurochi listened to his breath, to the sound of his beating heart, and tried not to think about anything else but that. After a few moments, Jaden began to run his hands up and down his back, massaging gentle circles in through his shirt.</p><p>Kurochi yawned again. This time, he nuzzled closer and let the darkness meet him, Jaden accompanying him all the while.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0052"><h2>52. {Saimota} Charmed and swept away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: can i get a 2 with saimota [ ‘Come dance with me.’ ]</p><p>Kaito asks the party’s wallflower to dance with him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Not much of a dancer, huh?”</p><p>Shuichi glanced up at the taller man who’d approached him, eyes sweeping up along his broad chest along the way, covered by a dress shirt too perfectly fitted to the shape of his muscles to be legal. They’d said only a few words to each other past their initial greeting, both content to watch the festivities in the ballroom around them, but it was enough for him to realize that the other–Kaito as he introduced himself–had the exact amount of charm and good looks to make his heart beat faster with him at his side.</p><p>“Uh, just haven’t been asked, I guess,” he answered lamely, letting his eyes slide away before he could stare.</p><p>Which, while true enough that no one had asked, he hadn’t made any moves to show that he was available to ask. Nor had he tried asking anyone else. The thought of inflicting someone with his sweaty palms and nervous feet kept him glued to the wall. Before Kaito came by, he hadn’t even done much socializing.</p><p>“What about you?” he returned after a brief silence, his eyes not quite reaching up to Kaito’s face. “Are you much of one?”</p><p>“I’m a great dancer,” he said, grinning widely. Then surprised Shuichi by holding out his hand to him, palm facing up. “Why don’t you come dance with me? I’ll show you.”</p><p>Shuichi swallowed his heart after it jumped straight to his throat. It caught him so off-guard, his mouth so dry, that he answered without thinking. “Y-yeah, sure–I mean sounds good. Yes.”</p><p>Yikes, that wasn’t his most graceful response, he thought as he slipped his hand into Kaito’s. Yet as the other led him out onto the floor, then pulled Shuichi in by the waist, he found that he had much more to think about instead of his awkward acceptance.</p><p>Like how Kaito’s chest felt just as strong and solid as his tailored shirt suggested.</p>
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<a name="section0053"><h2>53. {Irumatsu} Afterglow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: if youre still doing the kissing prompts, can you do After Sex Kisses with irumatsu?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miu’s skin is hot against hers as Kaede wraps her arms around her soft middle. She rests her cheek against her chest, between Miu’s collarbone and the gentle slope of her breasts.</p><p>“Mmph, you’re sweaty,” Miu complains halfheartedly. She sounds half asleep already.</p><p>“So are you.” Kaede raises her head, smiling at the warm glow of her girlfriend’s face. Miu’s cheeks are flushed, strawberry blond hair sticking to her forehead and the rest disheveled from their previous activities. “You want to take a shower?”</p><p>A groan escapes her, so reminiscent of her more pleasured moans that Kaede feels hot all over again. Surprisingly unaware of how that noise sounded, Miu stretches her arms high, then twines them around Kaede in a motion that brings her in even closer into Miu’s bosom.</p><p>“Fuck it, just fuckin’ go t’sleep,” she mutters with great effort.</p><p>Then she feels something–Miu brushing a clumsy kiss over the top of her head. Kaede can’t suppress a breathy giggle.</p><p>“Good night, love you babe,” she says, and kisses the only part of Miu she can in that position–her breasts, obviously.</p><p>“Mm-hm.” Miu sounds out of it, well on her way out of consciousness. “Love ya too.”</p>
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<a name="section0054"><h2>54. {Jadochi} Some sappy bitches playin vidja games</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: on one hand, I want Rochi to win arguments by kissing Jaden's hands, but on the other hand I feel like he'd be respectful of Jaden's only form of communicating hmmmmm but jadochi hand kissing is Nice</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A playful promise to crush Jaden in a videogame ended with a tie. Or rather, it ended in a tie after <em>several</em> ties, neither him nor Kurochi managing to get the one-up on the other. While it didn’t matter much and Kurochi definitely <em>didn’t </em>care, it actually did kind of matter and he did care quite a bit.</p><p>“Technically I won the first game,” Jaden signed, with an amused smile as Kurochi huffed at him.</p><p>“Well I won the <em>second</em>.”</p><p>“So it was a tie.” Jaden’s lips twitched and he stilled his hands for a moment to compose himself before continuing. “But I was the first winner.”</p><p>“Nuh-uh, it was all or nothing, we agreed,” he insisted, although they’d done no such thing. Before Jaden could call him out on it however, he reached out and took his hands.</p><p>He pressed his lips to Jaden’s fingers, glancing up at him over his knuckles. Unfortunately Jaden didn’t seem to be totally won over, the same entertained smile on his face. Kurochi tried again with another kiss, working his way up to Jaden’s wrists. When he stopped and sat up, he brought Jaden’s hands with him, resting his chin on top of them.</p><p>“<em>I think</em> you’re wrong and I won, just saying.”</p><p>Jaden tilted his head to the side following Kurochi’s assertion. His eyes slowly drifted from his face, wandering the room as if in thought. Then he gently tugged his hands free, and Kurochi let him, crossing his legs as he perched beside his boyfriend on the cushions.</p><p>Warm hands cupped his cheeks, instead of signing as Kurochi expected. Not that he’d complain. As Jaden drew him in closer, he let his eyelids fall closed, and sighed contentedly when their lips touched.</p><p>All too soon, that kiss ended and the comforting touch withdrew. Kurochi opened his eyes again, no longer pouting. He met Jaden’s eyes, and just barely caught the hint of mischief in those soft brown eyes. Finally Jaden responded, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.</p><p>“No.” Jaden’s fingers made an audible sound as he brought them together–faint, but there. “I definitely won.”</p><p>Kurochi grabbed whatever object was nearest him–a throw pillow, as it turned out–and shoved it into Jaden’s laughing face.</p><p>“You cheater, you play dirty!”</p><p>Never mind that he just tried to do the same.</p>
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<a name="section0055"><h2>55. {No Ship Twins AU} The forty-ninth, the first</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jaden goes missing. The twins stay at the Holland household to support their extended family, and to help in any way they can… if at all.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for kidnapping</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They’d left Japan without telling anyone goodbye, aside from the headmaster to explain what might be a long absence. When they returned they could explain why they’d left to their classmates, but at the moment that was the last thing on Kokichi and Kurochi’s minds.</p><p>So far two nights had passed, and Kurochi had maybe a few hours of sleep between them in total. The others in the Holland household seemed much the same, bags under eyes and expressions drawn with worry and exhaustion.</p><p>Even now, it’d gotten late and all the lights in the house were still on. Kurochi sat on the couch beside his brother, knees drawn up to his chest. Tension made his body rigid, something which even the solid presence of his brother leaning against his shoulder couldn’t help. He choked on a sob, biting his lip to suppress it. Kokichi pressed a little firmer against his side.</p><p>“Fuck it, I’m going out,” Glenn suddenly burst out, the sharp swear on his tongue stunning Kurochi. Usually he tried to censor himself in front of the twins. Now he made no attempt to.</p><p>Jayleen turned from her window vigil just as Glenn passed her on the way to the front door. Sleeplessness had pinched her expression, and now a hint of new fear leeched into it. “Where are you going?” she asked–more a demand than a question.</p><p>“A walk.”</p><p>Glenn didn’t stop to answer her and reached for the door handle. Jayleen rushed to his side, batting his arm away.</p><p>“Are you crazy? Don’t you see how late it is?” Her voice bordered on hysteria. From his place on the couch, Kurochi could see the tears gathered in her eyes.</p><p>Apparently Glenn couldn’t. Or else he chose not to, because he shoved her back by the shoulder. “Of course I do! I don’t care, I’m sick of being pent up in here,” he said through gritted teeth.</p><p>“Do you think if you go walking around on the streets alone like this you’re going to spontaneously find Ja–!”</p><p>“Maybe I will!” Glenn snapped, not letting her finish. “It’s way better than sitting around waiting!”</p><p>By that point, Kurochi had shrunk into Kokichi’s side. His brother’s arms had migrated around him, hugging him as the siblings argued. The argument needled at him, making him grind his teeth and rock gently the small amount that Kokichi’s embrace allowed. Stress and worry already present compounded as Glenn and Jayleen yelled at each other.</p><p>“I’m worried about Jaden too, you know!” The tears had broken free, rolling down Jayleen’s cheeks. She didn’t try to wipe them away, instead waving her balled fists at Glenn. “I want him home safe! But you’re just going to get yourself hurt or taken or <em>killed</em>, Glenn!”</p><p>“No I’m not, back off.” Seething, Glenn pushed away her reaching hands, spinning back to the door and wrenching it open before she could stop him again.</p><p>Both twins flinched as the door slammed behind him. Jayleen stood before it, shaking with her back to them. She didn’t say anything for a long while.</p><p>Then she balled her hands up into her thick hair, and <em>screamed</em>.</p><p>“Fine! Fine do whatever you want!” Glenn couldn’t possbily hear her, but that didn’t stop Jayleen from treating the door like her brother. “See if I fff–! Fine!”</p><p>With one final scream, she turned and stomped from the living room. Seconds later another door slammed–her bedroom door in the hallway. The twins were left to themselves, huddled and anxious on the couch together.</p><p>The silence quickly became unbearable. Thick, suffocating. Kurochi turned his face into his brother’s shoulder as the tears burned his eyes.</p><p>They cried together without a word to each other, sharing their heartache and anxiety and fear for Jaden. A close friend, family, who’d vanished before he ever came home one day. They could only hope that the police found him.</p><p>And hopefully didn’t find a <em>corpse</em>.</p>
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<a name="section0056"><h2>56. {Kairochi} Bed-sharing spies, spies that share a bed, and at least one is really gay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kairochi = Kaito/Kurochi, because I ship my OCs with canon characters like that</p><p>If you think I’ll ever shut up about kairochi and how much I love spy au with them, then you are super wrong. In this, Kurochi can no longer take the constant tension he feels between them.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They’d inevitably drift closer together in their sleep, arms touching and eventually one clinging to the other as they dreamed. That hadn’t happened yet, though, and Kurochi listened to Kaito’s even breaths, just close enough to feel the heat of his body underneath the blanket. His heart drummed a heavy tattoo against his ribcage. It called out to Kaito’s to respond.</p><p>If the other just opened his eyes, he’d probably see the glow of Kurochi’s burning cheeks in the dark of the room.</p><p>Kaito sighed out, shifting in his spot. Their hands knocked into each other; the contact sent a thousand volts straight into Kurochi’s poor racing heat. Just as Kaito had exhaled, Kurochi inhaled–a quick, sharp gasp of air that had his head spinning on the pillow beneath it.</p><p>And he decided. Right then and there. He couldn’t live like this anymore, next to the man he’d fallen head-over-heels with. His partner, but Kurochi couldn’t handle their professional relationship any longer.</p><p>He indulged in the touch of their hands for just one more moment. Kaito’s were bigger than his, strong and deft, but back of his hand was warm and soft on Kurochi’s skin. It took a great force of will to withdraw, when all he wanted to do was to thread their fingers together.</p><p>“Kaito?” His name was a shaky whisper, nerves and hesitance making it waver on Kurochi’s breath. He waited mere seconds before he continued. “Are you still awake?”</p><p>“Hm?” A sleepy hum and shifting next to him, Kaito’s weight dipping the mattress and tilting Kurochi closer (to his simultaneous excitement and dismay). He blinked his eyes open, and Kurochi found himself caught up in warm purple hues. “What’s up? Something wrong?”</p><p>Kurochi swallowed. His partner’s voice was rough from sleep, and just deep enough to send tingles all the way down to his toes. He bit his lip.</p><p>“I… I can’t…” He swallowed, conviction failing for a moment. “I mean, I need to tell you something.”</p><p>Worry crept into Kaito’s expression, and he immediately felt guilty for putting it there. “What is it? You can tell me anything, ok?”</p><p>Kaito’s thumb found its way to the back of Kurochi’s hand, firm strokes meant to calm him, but it only served to make his heart race. How badly he wanted to slip his hand into his and intertwine their fingers. That’d be a step too far though, he couldn’t pass that off as a platonic action when his palms were so sweaty.</p><p>“I-it’s nothing bad. It’s just–. I just–.”</p><p>Kurochi knew that he wasn’t doing much to reassure Kaito that nothing was wrong, but the gentle touching distracted him from gathering his thoughts. Deciding to throw all hopes of a suave confession out the window, he inhaled deeply and blurted it out.</p><p>“I… I really like you, Kaito. Like, <em>really</em> like, not as just my work partner but as… as a… my…” Kurochi faltered and turned his face into his pillow to hide his burning face. The rest was muffled into the pillow, but he finished regardless of whether Kaito could hear or not. “I like you a lot.”</p><p>Beside him, Kaito stilled. In the darkness of the pillow, panic edged into his mind. He’d said too much, he’d made things awkward. Oh god, they still had to work together, and now Kaito knew that he felt <em>that way </em>about him and he’d probably ask for a transfer and he’d never see him again, and–.</p><p>“Wow I… I had no idea you… yeah.” Kaito gave a nervous chuckle. “I didn’t want to push anything on you, but I didn’t know–.”</p><p>Confused by the response, Kurochi withdrew from his hiding place. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>Kaito was looking down steadily on him, and even in his shame Kurochi couldn’t help but find his breath stolen by that unrelenting gaze. The thumb at his hand resumed its stroking, and the thorny vines of disbelief twisted around a cautious bloom of hope in Kurochi’s chest.</p><p>“I think I’ve had feelings for you for a while now,” Kaito said, and although the words were something straight out of a dream, he continued without pause. “I didn’t want to push any boundaries or anything, since you were comfortable like this and I thought you only thought of me as a friend and coworker. You know?”</p><p>Then Kaito did exactly as Kurochi had wanted to do early. He took his hand, pressing their palms together without any thought to how sweaty Kurochi’s were, and threaded their fingers together.</p><p>“But… I like you too. A lot. And being this close, touching you without… well, I mean keeping things strictly platonic… it kinda drives me crazy, you know?” Kaito finished with a smile that sparked the beginnings of a fire in Kurochi’s gut.</p><p>“Ah… I… I’m… ahh.” Words failed him in the wake in that admission. It felt too surreal. It felt like he’d wake up any moment cold and empty after a fulfilling dream that had no hope of ever coming true. Kurochi reached his free hand up, sliding his fingers over the rough stubble on Kaito’s chin and further still, until his hand lay flat against his cheek.</p><p>“Is it… ok if I kiss…?”</p><p>Kaito cupped his hand, and gently wrapped his fingers around it. “Yeah. More than ok.”</p><p>Before Kurochi’s courage could fail him, he surged forward, bringing their mouths together a bit too roughly for their first time. He winced, withdrew again after their teeth clacked together, and he saw Kaito grimace too. But instead of pulling back from him entirely, Kaito squeezed his hand and curled into him. Their lips met again, more gently this time as they kissed.</p><p>Kurochi closed his eyes and let Kaito’s mouth and his heat sweep him up into a daze.</p>
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<a name="section0057"><h2>57. {No Ship Twins AU} Despair Disease</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: You know what we all need? Twin angst. How about something to do with the twins getting their respective Despair Diseases?</p><p>For context, Kurochi's is Hate Disease, and Kokichi's is Obedience. It's rough for them.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something prodded at his shoulder. He groaned, weakly pulling away from the touch. It didn’t stop, however, and the poking turned into a gentle shake of his shoulder that sent a spike of irritation lancing through him.</p><p>“<em>Hey</em>! Kurochi, what’s wrong?”</p><p>He gritted his teeth, feeling simultaneously embarrassed and angry at the way his brother’s voice needled through his brain. His entire body felt hot; the blanket that lay over him felt too heavy.</p><p>“<em>Rochi</em>.”</p><p>And the insistent voice of his brother didn’t help.</p><p>“I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” Kurochi tried to say, but it came out as an incoherent jumble, his words too slurred to make anything out of.</p><p>Yet despite that, the prodding and the shaking stopped. A relieved sigh slipped past his lips as he sunk back into the sleep he’d had so rudely interrupted. The bed beside him shifted, but he hardly noticed. He heard Kokichi tell him something about getting him some water, and then the door opened and he was out before it closed again.</p><p>…..</p><p>…</p><p>Kurochi started from his sleep, eyes snapped open and a cold sweat broken out over his skin. He gasped for air, his chest suddenly too tight and his head too dizzy. Yet even as he shivered, he felt hot–too hot, it felt like he was going to spontaneously combust at this rate.</p><p>His throat was dry and scratchy. He needed some water.</p><p>With shaky limbs, he slowly climbed out of bed, shoving his bare feet into his  shoes and shuffling out of the room without even bothering to get dressed. He hugged himself and trudged his way in the direction of the Dining Hall. All he could think of was getting water for his parched throat, nothing else. Nothing, until he reached the door and the muffled sound of voices within set his frayed nerves on edge.</p><p>Jaw clenched, he pushed it open and entered the room. All the voices were swiftly silenced, and somehow that irritated him even more.</p><p>“Kurochi?”</p><p>He blinked, blearily searching for the voice that had spoken. Shuichi? His irritation deepened, and he opened his mouth to snap that he was fine, squeezing his arms.</p><p>Then Kokichi’s face popped into view, blocking his entire vision. The words died at his lips, and an inexplicable rage surged up from underneath the low simmer of his prior irritation.</p><p>“Rochi, what are you doing up? You’re sick, you should be in bed, come on let’s get you back.”</p><p>Kokichi tried to lay a guiding hand on his arm and Kurochi yanked away from him. He stumbled back, swaying on his feet.</p><p>“Don’t touch me!” No amount of slurring would hide the disgust in his tone, though he had no idea where it was coming from. The more he stared at Kokichi’s face though–the brother whom he so loved and cherished above anyone else–the more he was filled with hatred and revulsion.</p><p>Kokichi stared, clearly shocked by his reaction. “…Rochi?”</p><p>“Don’t touch me,” he repeated. His stomach flipped over itself; he was going to be sick at this rate. “<em>You’re</em> sick.”</p><p>Beyond his brother’s shoulder, he could see the faces of their classmates. They angered him too, but nowhere near as much as he couldn’t stand the sight of Kokichi’s right then. He backed up so quickly that he tripped over his foot, slamming down onto the floor with a shock that ran through his body. Despite the way he’d snapped at him, Kokichi dropped to his knees beside him, reaching out.</p><p>“No, <em>no</em>. Let <em>go</em>!” He jerked away, but the motion was weaker than before. The room was spinning, he moaned and pushed his face down into the cold floor. It hurt. Everything hurt.</p><p>“Rochi? <em>Rochi</em>, what’s wrong?!”</p><p>He felt Kokichi’s hand on his shoulder again, gently shaking him, but he could no longer respond. Then the darkness rose up, and swallowed him up.</p><p>….</p><p>…….</p><p>..</p><p>Kurochi groaned, cracking his eyes open. His body ached all over, the burning throughout hotter than ever. It didn’t help that he’d gotten to bed somehow, with the heavy blanket thrown over him. How <em>did</em> he get there?</p><p>“Oh good, finally you’re awake,” Kaito’s voice said from beside the bed. “You need to drink some water or something, you look like shit.”</p><p>He only glared as Kaito approached him, tensing when he held the glass of water out to him. It didn’t seem to dissuade Kaito any; he pressed the water into his hands, and didn’t stop until Kurochi took a sip.</p><p>“Monokuma said some shit about this being the new motive. He called it a Despair Disease, and you’ve got like Hate Disease. I wouldn’t have believed that bull, except you said some pretty nasty things to Kokichi while you were out of it. It was… yeah. Anyway,” he explained, motioning for Kurochi to drink again, which he did, “I decided that I was gonna help you out, since I got a little bit of medical training and all. No need to thank me, I already know I’m great.”</p><p>“More like an obnoxious freak,” Kurochi hissed out.</p><p>Kaito wasn’t put out by the insult. He shrugged. “Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that. You should sleep. It’s the best way to get through this fever.”</p><p>“Where’s Kokichi?”</p><p>Even though the sight of him filled him with hatred, a part of Kurochi craved closeness to his brother. He was hot and miserable and dizzy, and he wanted to press his face into Kokichi’s shoulder and sleep through the sickness.</p><p>“Not here.” Kaito didn’t offer anything more, and something inside him twisted.</p><p>“Yeah thanks a lot, idiot. I can see that,” he snapped.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, ok? It’s for the best that you guys are separated for a bit.”</p><p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Trust me.” Kaito gave him a sympathetic smile. “I do.”</p><p>Anger coursed through him, bringing heat and nausea running after. Kurochi gritted his teeth as his body swayed. Kaito took the half-full glass from him. “Y-you’re just… just…”</p><p>Before he could bite out a last insult, all the strength fled his body and Kurochi collapsed back against the bed. When he’d sat up, the blanket had fallen into his lap, and Kaito reached over to pull it back over his shoulders. He ignored any of Kurochi’s hateful protests.</p><p>“Now try and get some sleep. Maybe it’ll be better tomorrow. If not…” Kaito shrugged, but his eyes looked worried as they scanned Kurochi’s sweaty face. “Well, we’ll figure something out.”</p><p>Then he left the room. Sick and weakened as he was, Kurochi had no choice but to try and sleep. Tears stung his eyes, and a pitiful sob wrenched from his chest. Without anyone to direct the pent up emotions toward, loneliness crept in to crush him in its place. He laid there, eyes closed and feeling miserable. He wanted Kokichi by his side, as his brother always was whenever he felt sick.</p><p>(Betrayed anger rose, but then ebbed away as he lay there in his isolation. Some logical part in his feverish mind knew that it wasn’t Kokichi’s fault for having to stay away. Kurochi was being cruel in this state, and he wished fervently that he could stop.)</p><p>For the first time in years, Kurochi sunk into an uneasy sleep, alone.</p>
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<a name="section0058"><h2>58. {Oumami} Teasing your boyfriend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: oumami with 28?? (but I forgot what '28' was rip)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last of Rantaro’s sisters out the door, Kokichi waited until he heard a car start and then drive away before he made his move. He rose from the couch, and promptly claimed a place in Rantaro’s lap with a huge grin. The motion displaced the book Rantaro had been reading, but other than a sigh and moving his arms so that he could hold the book <em>and</em> Kokichi at the same time, he hardly acknowledged it.</p><p>“So it’s just you and me now!” Kokichi announced, head resting back against Rantaro’s shoulder. He giggled at the hot breath that hit his skin each time Rantaro exhaled. “We can do <em>whatever</em> we want now.”</p><p>He placed heavy emphasis, letting his lips curl into a suggestive smile, and waited.</p><p>It took a few extra seconds for the words to process, but when they did, Rantaro’s neutral expression change. A hint of pink had crept into his cheeks and he shifted underneath him. Although he clearly tried to hide it, Kokichi could see that his statement had flustered him somewhat.</p><p>Perfect.</p><p>Rantaro tore his eyes from his book. “Like…?” he prompted, suspicious. And he was right to be.</p><p>“Liiiike…” Kokichi made sure to draw it out, squirming around as he made himself at home in Rantaro’s lap. All the while he kept a sharp eye on him, grin widening bit by bit. “Oh I know! We can have a fun, heated, <em>rousing</em> night oooof… Yahtzee, all night.”</p><p>He heard the disappointment on the hiss of Rantaro’s exhale.</p><p>“I swear, you’re going to be the death of me, Kokichi.”</p><p>“What’d you think I was going to say?” He couldn’t help but giggle behind his hand. He only felt a little bad for messing with his boyfriend so much. “But listen, how about I sweeten the deal a little bit for you. Only because I wuv you sooo much.”</p><p>He knew that his words (purposefully) didn’t inspire much confidence, but Rantaro took the bait anyway.</p><p>“And what would that be?”</p><p>Kokichi let his voice drop into a low tone, serious and tinged with desire. “If you beat me, then I’ll let you do whatever you want to me,” he promised.</p><p>Color jumped into Rantaro’s cheeks, and Kokichi knew that he had him right where he wanted him right then.</p>
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<a name="section0059"><h2>59. {Oumaede} Calling your mermaid bf beautiful</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I found this pretty prompt 4 oumaede: "When you laugh like that, it just — you’re so beautiful, you know that?”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede caught him off guard, and Kokichi burst into laughter before he could stop himself. His eyes squeezed closed, rocking back in the lapping waves. The sound shot straight into Kaede’s heart, rough and a little wheezy, but with a bright musical quality to it that stirred something inside her chest.</p><p>She let out a fluttery exhale, squirming in her seat on the rock, damp with ocean spray. Her eyes couldn’t stray from the siren’s face. The laughter was familiar, but with an otherworldly quality that made her thoughts dance with the urge… to create, to bring that feeling to others.</p><p>Her fingers twitched. She curled them into fists to keep them still.</p><p>Then Kokichi’s laughter tapered off. His eyes opened and he caught her staring. He frowned at once, suspicion darting across his face. Then that too disappeared, and he was left with the blank mask he always wore.</p><p>She wasn’t fooled, though. Kaede had seen the animation behind his features when he laughed. When <em>she</em> made him laugh.</p><p>“Huh? What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?” A faux grin curled his lips. “Or am I just so cute that you started thinking dirty thoughts when you were looking at me? That’s it, huh? Wow, I can’t believe humans would be so perverted.”</p><p>“Hey!” she protested, immediately offended by the accusation. Something that felt so wonderful, so pure and desirable to her, couldn’t be labelled with things like ‘perversion’ and ‘dirty’. Kaede shook her head, trying hard to recapture the bubbly feelings she’d had just before. “No, of course not, it’s just… hmmm…..”</p><p>A little frustrated, she closed her eyes. The sound of the ocean was all around her, salty air on her tongue in every breath. She inhaled deeply, letting it fill her lungs and her mind.</p><p>“When you laugh like that–.” She stopped, unsure, but didn’t open her eyes before she spoke again. “It just–. You’re so beautiful. You know?”</p><p>Finally she opened them, and was met with such a strange look on the merman’s face that it took her aback. She rocked back, blinking.</p><p>“…you know?” she said again, confidence faltering. “It makes me want to play a song… on the piano, for people to hear. I want them to feel like you made me feel when I heard you laugh like that.”</p><p>As she spoke, a blush rose to her cheeks. She felt embarrassed, like he couldn’t possibly understand what she meant and he thought that she was a fool for it.</p><p>Finally, Kokichi looked away from her. She caught just a hint of embarrassment rising to those pale features. His fins flared, then pressed down against his skin.</p><p>“G-geez,” he said, voice wavering. “You’re really sappy, you know that? Gross.”</p>
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<a name="section0060"><h2>60. {Oumeno} The one where Kokichi dressed Himiko up in his clothes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 58 for Oumeno( I mean both of them would pretty much fit each others clothes)? If you are comfortable with it please ^v^</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Himiko stood rigid, her arms held straight out. The faux straps and stiff fabric pressed uncomfortably into her skin, nothing like the flowing cloaks and robes and loose clothes she usually wore.</p><p>“Nee-heehee, my clothes look good on you.”</p><p>Kokichi’s grinning face popped into view. Although he spoke cheerfully, if felt as if he was mocking her. Scowling, Himiko forced her arms straight down by her sides. Although it felt like the sleeves pinched her, she put her hands on her hips.</p><p>“This is the worst. I don’t know how you wear this.”</p><p>“What? Are you saying my clothes are ugly?” Tears welled up in his eyes. “And I thought they looked so good on you and everything, waaaaahhhh!”</p><p>“Ugh, stop it. I know you’re faking it!” she grumbled, and began to paw at the buttons on the uniform, undoing them so that she could free herself from its constricting fabric.</p><p>“Oh? So now you’re gonna undress in front of me instead?” Kokichi spoke in a light tone, grinning teasingly at her. “I thought that would be something Miu would do, not you, Himiko.”</p><p>“Huh?” Himiko’s face burned. She turned away from him sharply, holding the front of her uniform closed. Even though she’d been wearing a shirt underneath it, suddenly she felt embarrassed. “Shut up, of course not! Ugh, you’re so annoying, I’m putting <em>my </em>clothes back on!”</p><p>Cheeks inflamed, she left the room in a hurry. She ignored Kokichi calling after her, deciding that it wasn’t worth sticking around for another round of teasing. Geez! That guy!</p>
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<a name="section0061"><h2>61. {No Ship Twins AU} In place of you...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Horrible idea for you to do with as you please: AU where the twins swapped places for a day as kids, and suffered through each other's abuse.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: Violence, physical abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>White-hot pain sparked along his scalp at the rough yank that tilted his head up. Kurochi’s eyes squeezed shut against it with a gasp, shutting out the image of his father’s cold eyes boring down on him. He didn’t see the fist coming.</p><p>The impact drove hard up into his stomach. Kurochi gagged and wheezed, and he would’ve doubled over if not the restraining grip on his hair.</p><p>“No, no, please!” Kokichi’s terrified squeak was right next to him, but sounded so far away.</p><p>Through squinted eyes, tears blurring his vision, Kurochi saw his brother trying to get to him, screaming, “<em>I’m</em> Kokichi, it’s me, it’s me, <em>please</em>!”</p><p>The fist in his hair withdrew, only for it to slam into Kurochi’s chest. The force sent him sprawling back, head cracking against the wall as he fell and stars bursting in his vision. Disoriented, he was helpless as their father gripped Kokichi by his upper arm, leaning down to speak in a low, threatening voice. Kurochi didn’t hear what he said over the ringing in his ears, but he saw his brother’s teary eyes widen, the horrified expression freezing on his face.</p><p>Something about their swap, something about how immature they were acting, pretending to be their brother at school. Neither of them thought they’d been caught, they did a good job pretending to be their brother, it was just a bit of <em>fun</em>, but–</p><p>He threw Kokichi when he finished speaking; his brother was helpless to the yank on his arm and tumbled straight to the floor. Then he turned back to Kurochi, advancing on him.</p><p>“You want to act like each other?” he said as Kurochi weakly tried to cower from him. He only knocked his raised hands away with one motion, and painfully gripped Kurochi’s jaw to forced his face directly towards him. There was no mercy there, no love that a father should have toward his sons. Only a frozen loathing for his very existence.</p><p>Terrified tears streaked down his cheeks. They didn’t stop their father from striking him hard across the face. Kurochi yelped and slumped sideways onto the floor, momentarily stunned by the blow. It was nothing though, compared to what he knew would come next.</p><p>“Fine then.”</p>
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<a name="section0062"><h2>62. {Momomatsu} The ace pianist</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kaede recently made a discovery about herself, and she’s nervous to share it with Kaito.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito’s arm rested across her shoulders, tucking Kaede comfortably against his side as they watched TV on the couch together. Or rather, Kaito watched TV. Kaede had stopped watching some time ago, chewing her lip as her thoughts churned about her head.</p><p>A shuddering sigh slipped past her lips before she could stop it. Her heartbeat kicked up twelve notches when Kaito noticed, the hand at her shoulder twitching and his face turning to look down at her. She pressed closer, shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to make herself smaller. If she just pretended that she made no sound hard enough, then they could just go back to watching TV.</p><p>“Hey, you ok?”</p><p>Or not.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s just…” Kaede paused to gather her thoughts. Nerves nibbled at the inside of her stomach, making it difficult to concentrate. “I… have something to tell you.”</p><p>She drew out from under his arm. With some distance, she hoped that she could calm the raging in her head. One look up at him though and she was nervous all over again. He’d let his arm drop, hand resting on the empty cushion that Kaede had just vacated. The worry that crept onto his expression was undeserved, and she hated that she’d caused it over something so… so <em>minor</em>.</p><p>Although if it was minor, then why was she having such a hard time with it?</p><p>“What’s up? What do you need to tell me?” Kaito prompted when Kaede didn’t respond right away.</p><p>Part of her wanted so say that it was nothing, and then go back to what they were doing before. If she did that though, then it would continue sitting at the back of his mind, possibly assuming the worst. She didn’t want to do that to him; she needed to trust that Kaito loved and cared for her every bit as he said he did.</p><p>Which she believed wholeheartedly. Kaito wouldn’t reject her. Right?</p><p>As soon as the fluttering in her gut subsided, she forced the words into her voice before it could return. Playing with the hem of her shirt, she told him, “I’ve been thinking for a while, about how I’ve felt… About you, and just in general, you know?”</p><p>Oh that sounded bad didn’t it. The thudding in her chest grew harder, and she squirmed in her seat.</p><p>“I mean, I love you! I really really do! This isn’t really… about that.” Alright, not much better, but she was locked in the conversation now. She hurriedly continued, “I think… no, not think, I <em>know</em>. And I just wanted to tell you, now that I’m sure…”</p><p>So far, Kaito hadn’t spoken. Kaede stared down at her own lap, her fingers busied with a loose thread she’d found on her shirt. She jerked her face upward, afraid of what she’d see on his face, but needing the reaction when she finally got to the point.</p><p>“I’m actually asexual.”</p><p>Something flickered in his eyes. Her heart leaped up into her throat. While she couldn’t recognize the emotion–there and gone before even one second had passed–she could only think of disappointment. Or worse. So she spoke again, before he had a chance to open his mouth.</p><p>“I-it–. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t do… have… <span class="small">sex</span>…” Her voice shrunk away as she spoke, then grew stronger again. She shied from the repulsion she felt at the idea, but pushed it aside in her fear of rejection. “I could still do all of that, if I wanted, so… so…”</p><p>Kaito raised a hand. She fell silent immediately, her eyes fixing on it as she swayed in place, anxious and waiting for his response.</p><p>“Hey, hey, it’s <em>fine</em>,” he said, voice gentle but firm in the wake of her panic-riddled admission. He rested his hand against her cheek. She exhaled softly and leaned into it. “I’m not going anywhere; you don’t gotta do anything just to make me happy, ok? I’m happy just being with you anyway.”</p><p>He ran his thumb along her cheekbone, the touches drawing a smile to her lips. Kaito smiled in return, and she felt a little silly for worrying so much about it.</p><p>“And anyway, I’m just glad you told me. I don’t want you to ever feel uncomfortable about something that you feel is important, alright?” His grin grew so bright that Kaede felt like she almost had to close her eyes. “I’m gonna be right here for you. <em>Always</em>.”</p><p>Kaede half-laughed, half-sighed following Kaito’s reassurance. She lifted her hand to her cheek and laid it over the back of his hand still resting there. Her fingers curled around his and she squeezed, hoping that he could feel her gratitude in it.</p><p>“Thanks, Kaito. That really does mean a lot to me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love to make all the characters ace.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0063"><h2>63. {Hoshimatsu} Piano Key Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Can you please do a Hoshimatsu prompt with Kaede playing playing his favorite songs on the piano?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the last notes faded into silence, so too did the tension drain from her shoulders with a soft sigh. She withdrew her fingers from the keys and let them rest in her lap. Sometimes practicing a song could get tedious, slowly going over tricky fingerings until her muscles had gotten the hang of them. Once she’d grasped the song and worked only on mastering it, however, a good run left her feeling exhausted, but in a good way.</p><p>With the hint of a smile on her face and limbs feeling pleasantly like jello, she swung her legs over the bench to turn around.</p><p>“Oh!”</p><p>The exclamation startled out of her by the sight of Ryoma standing in the doorway. She pressed a hand over her chest to will the panicked fluttering of her heart to calm.</p><p>“You scared me,” she said with a nervous giggle. “I didn’t expect to see you there.”</p><p>“Sorry.” While his tone could be a little rough around the edges, there was no mistaken the genuine apology there. His head tilted up, oddly bare without the beanie he preferred to wear, so he could meet her eyes. “Was just passing by and got taken in by the song you were playing.”</p><p>“Oh, I see.” It flattered Kaede to hear that. A smile crept onto her lips. “It’s really starting to come along. What did you think?”</p><p>While the ultimate pianist in title, she couldn’t help but crave any praise she could get. As well as actual feedback, of course, but from the far-off look in his dark, dark eyes, she doubted she’d hear anything negative come from his lips.</p><p>“Hm…” He even sounded far away as he spoke, a dreamy quality to his voice. His eyes closed, and he looked so peaceful in that moment that Kaede wished she could reach out and take a snapshot of the moment. Then maybe she could recreate it in the future, along with the warmth diffusing through her chest at the sight. “It’s good… really good…”</p><p>For a moment, she thought that he wouldn’t say anything more than that. Surprising her, however, he continued after a minute spent lost in his own thoughts.</p><p>“Reminds me of… simpler times, yeah. Good ones. I think I’ve heard that song you played before… not sure where, but it feels…” Ryoma trailed off, and opened his eyes just before he finished. “…like home. Sorry if that sounds…”</p><p>“No, no, thank you. I’m happy to hear it,” Kaede assured him before he could finish apologizing for something he had no reason to feel sorry about. “Bringing happiness, good feelings to people… that’s part of why I play piano in the first place.”</p><p>Then she giggled again, this time with less nerves than before.</p><p>“I mean, aside from the fact that I’m totally obsessed with it, but you get the idea.”</p><p>Her offhand comment earned a resounding chuckle from him. “Yes, I got it.”</p><p>Silence followed shortly after. Kaede spent a long minute gazing towards him, studying his face. She turned herself back around on the bench, facing the piano with a dramatic flourish. The keys beckoned her once again, and her heart urged her forward in a powerful rush towards touching Ryoma with that fondness again.</p><p>She could take her break later. Right now she patted the spot on the bench beside her, craning her neck to look back at him with an inviting smile.</p><p>“Come sit by me, I was going to practice it a little more. You can have a front row seat to your own private performance by yours truly.”</p><p>A faint smile appeared on his face; his eyes softened considerably, although he didn’t look like he had quite bought Kaede’s little white lie. Even so, he took her offer and sat next to her, climbing up onto the bench, a warm presence beside her. The heat melted away her fears, and the smile grew on her lips as she turned her eyes on the sheet music before her.</p><p>In that moment, there was nowhere else she’d rather be.</p>
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<a name="section0064"><h2>64. {Saimeno} In the future please do not leave your shrinking potions out on the table</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: We need some more Saimeno! How about a au where Himiko’s a actual mage and Shuichi’s a unfortunate human to accidentally drink a potion that made him shrink down to six inches and Himiko feels happy to be the taller one? XD</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi knocked on the door as he pushed it open. The sign taped to the front had said ‘Come in!’ with a little smiling face drawn next to it, but he couldn’t completely throw manners out the window. He poked his head into the apartment. “Hello? Himiko?”</p><p>His voice echoed in the strangely empty room. A semi-opaque sheet hung in front of the window in place of blinds, which incidentally lay on the floor by that wall. He couldn’t understand the purpose of it–it didn’t completely block out the sun that filtered weakly through, and wasn’t any more effective at privacy than the blinds that had evidently already been in place.</p><p>“Shuichi?” Himiko’s voice came from the kitchen before he could spend much more time pondering that. He turned his head toward that doorway, but from that angle he couldn’t see much more than a countertop.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s me.” He slipped into the apartment, tearing the sheet of paper from the door before he let it fall closed behind him. A glass vial clinked as the toe of his shoe knocked it. Thankfully it didn’t break. He decided it best to pick it up now before it could. “Do you need any help?”</p><p>“No thanks, I got it. You can sit down though, I put tea and stuff on the table already.”</p><p>At least he had no questions about where to sit. With the rest of the furniture either tucked away somewhere or never existing at all, the front room only contained a coffee table and a couch. A blanket was draped over one of the arms, pooling where it reached the floor. While he made his way to the couch and sat on it, he wondered how often his friend slept on it.</p><p>The table itself had a teapot on it, true, but also an assortment of different sized glasses, cups, and vials that covered nearly every inch of available space. Some of which had corks, some tipped onto their sides with a small amount of suspiciously colored liquid dribbling onto the water-stained wood. He carefully made room and set the vial he’d retrieved in that space.</p><p>Himiko had said she’d put tea on the table, but there were so many containers in front of him that he didn’t know <em>where</em> on the table.</p><p>Eventually he decided that it must all be tea. In his experience with Himiko, she enjoyed magical-seeming things, so must’ve poured tea into different containers and colored them with food dye. He’d seen the same sort of thing around Halloween. So instead of pouring a cup for himself (or rather a vial of the tea), he took one of the containers filled with a shimmering blue liquid–decorative sugar?</p><p>He took a sip, and winced. Bitter, not much sugar. His eyes scanned the table again looking for it as his lips tingled with whatever spices were in the tea.</p><p>Himiko exclaimed from the other room, “Oh! Right, I forgot teacups, let’s see.”</p><p>“Huh?” But the vials–.</p><p>The tingle spread throughout his body as his confusion deepened. Then, everything began to grow around him.</p><p>Or not–was he getting smaller? A wave of nausea rocked him, feet shrinking away from the floor to leave him stranded on an entire continent made of a couch cushion. Shuichi’s jaw dropped open, wanting to scream but too overwhelmed by the situation to make a noise. He sucked in a sharp breath.</p><p>Clinking from the kitchen, and Himiko finally emerged into the front room with a cup in each hand. “Alright! Now we can start, Shu–wait, Shuichi?”</p><p>Her eyes blinked slowly as she scanned the room, frown growing. “I can’t believe he left…” she muttered to herself, a bitter disappointment in her voice.</p><p>“I’m right here!” Shuichi called. She didn’t hear him, so he tried again, louder. “Himiko! <em>Himiko</em>!”</p><p>It took some blowing out his vocal chords, but he managed to get her attention. She approached the couch with a mixture of both surprise and excitement gleaming in her eyes. “You’re tiny! Wow, Shuichi, I didn’t know you were a mage too.”</p><p>“What are you talking about? I just drank something and then–. What <em>happened</em>?”</p><p>Himiko clapped her hands together, surprising him. “Oh, it worked then! I mean my potion, not the you drinking it thing, you weren’t supposed to do that but… Nyehh, this is great.”</p><p>Shuichi disagreed, and the look on his face told her so. She tried to neutralize her expression, but she couldn’t suppress the smile.</p><p>“Nyeh, sorry. I’ll give you the reversal potion now.” She reached down to pick him up.</p><p>He clung to her thumb as she raised him into the air, butterflies exploding in his stomach as he swiftly moved higher. Once the motion stopped, and he could sit comfortably on her open palm…</p><p>No, actually this wasn’t comfortable at all.</p><p>“At least now you actually believe in my magic, right?” Himiko sounded way too thrilled about the situation, probably because she wasn’t the one currently only a few inches tall.</p><p>He guessed he had to. It wasn’t like he could exactly deny that he’d shrunk… unless the vial had contained some kind of extreme hallucinogenic. Which didn’t seem to be the case.</p><p>“Yes, yes, now please–just get me back to normal.”</p>
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<a name="section0065"><h2>65. {Hoshimatsu} Gifting the choice of legs to the mermaid girlfriend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 100 prompts, 89. Ryoma/Kaede. -  “This must be the happiest moment of my life.”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede nearly dropped the carefully wrapped gift into the water, and her heart jumped right into her throat as she fumbled to keep it steady. When she regained her grip, her flared fins flattened back against her body, and a shaky sigh whistled out between her teeth.</p><p>From the corner of her eye, she saw Ryoma smile.</p><p>“Hey, don’t laugh at me!” she demanded, turning her face towards him with a pout. “I thought I was going to drop it, and then the waves would take it away forever and I’d never know what your present was.”</p><p>“Sorry,” he said, yet continued to smile. “Go on, open it up before you do drop it.”</p><p>Her suspicious gaze swept over his face–once, twice–before she reluctantly returned it to the present in her hands. It was box shaped, wrapped up in a paper that sparkled with purple and gold flecks in the sunlight. Ryoma had said it reminded him of her. The colors were too dark though. While Kaede had never seen her eyes reflected back at her, her hair was much paler than the darker yellow present in the wrapping paper.</p><p>She wouldn’t say that, though. It touched her that Ryoma had thought of her at all, let alone got her a gift for her birthday. He was teaching her so much more about humans than she had ever dreamed of knowing. Her family always told her they were dangerous, bloodthirsty, mermaid-eating killers. And Ryoma had not only surpassed those expectations when they first met, but dashed them against the nearby cliffside.</p><p>“Aren’t you going to open it?” Ryoma’s question broke through her reverie.</p><p>“Huh? Oh–oh yeah, of course, sorry. Got distracted a bit…” Her smile was sheepish, but it faded away into a faint excitement as she dragged her claw-tipped fingers across the surface of the gift. The paper ripped with a satisfying sound, and she handed the trash off to Ryoma for him to shove into his bag as she peeled it away from the delicate black box within it.</p><p>Kaede popped the lid open, more careful now that the paper had been done away with. Inside the box, on a satiny white cushion, lay a necklace with a thick silver chain. At the end of it was a small amethyst, encased in a cage of intertwining silver.</p><p>“Ohh, it’s beautiful,” she said, touching it with a gentle claw.</p><p>“You should put it on,” he told her, slipping his hands into his pockets. “It does something else I think you’d like.”</p><p>Her eyebrows furrowed at his vague statement. Nonetheless she, with some difficulty and help from Ryoma, undid the clasp and slipped it on around her neck. As soon as it hung, with the amethyst resting against her chest, strange little jolts ran down her body.</p><p>“Oh!”</p><p>She jumped at the tingling sensation. It hadn’t hurt, but it was surprising and slightly concerning as it continued. Before she could even guess what the necklace might do, she noticed the scales of her tail begin to fade away. Her mouth dropped open, and as she watched, skin that was similar to Ryoma’s appeared instead. Her fins shrunk away, and her tail split, until she was left with two appendages <em>just </em>like Ryoma’s legs.</p><p>“<em>Oh</em>!” Her surprise had morphed into delight. Kaede lifted her new legs into the air, laughing as the wind tickled her wet skin. She wiggled her toes, endlessly interested in how they felt as she moved new muscles. “Oh gosh, thank you! Thank you so much!”</p><p>When she turned to Ryoma, she saw that his cheeks had reddened and he was looking away.</p><p>“Of course, I know you wanted to see the surface with–oof.”</p><p>She threw her arms around him, cutting off the rest of his explanation. Maybe along with the rest of his air supply too. Kaede couldn’t help it though, she was so excited for her new legs–and with the necklace she was sure that she could change back at any time. She’d have the best of both worlds!</p><p>“This must be the happiest moment of my life, thank you so much!”</p><p>“You’re welcome.” Ryoma smiled up at her, although the red remained prominent against his skin. “But…”</p><p>She waited patiently for his explanation, blinking innocently down at him.</p><p>“Before we go anywhere, I should probably get you some clothes to wear…”</p>
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<a name="section0066"><h2>66. {Gokuruma} Science isn't a blanket excuse to just do whatever you want</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: of the prompts could you do 55 or 86 with gokuruma? thanks a lot! - “For science!”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t uncommon for Miu to proclaim her reckless actions in the name of science, although Gonta couldn’t see anything useful happening through shoving dangerous items into a microwave just to see what would happen. Or creating things that would prove a detriment to everyone around.</p><p>(Some things which made Gonta fluster and look away, too shockingly vulgar to behold with his own eyes. He couldn’t understand Miu’s obsession with it.)</p><p>And yet, it still genuinely shocked him when Miu’s latest device shot-circuited and exploded in a shower of sparks. He jumped at her shriek, and hurried to her side when her body jerked backwards onto the floor.</p><p>“Oh no, Miu! Are you ok? Are you hurt?”</p><p>Without a thought towards his own actions, Gonta tucked an arm under her knees and lifted her, his other arm supporting her back. Miu squeaked at the sudden movement, her face a bright red with what must’ve been burns from the mini-explosion. He carefully adjusted his grip to free up an arm, bringing his palm to the heated skin of her face. His palm nearly swallowed her cheek with its size.</p><p>“Wh-wh-what are you doing?!” Miu’s stammering caused his worry to deepen.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I will find you cream for your burns and…. ice! Ice too, do not worry!”</p><p>Miu stared up at him with in incomprehensible look, hair frizz and forming a wild frame around her face, and icy blue eyes swimming with emotions that Gonta couldn’t figure out. The color of her face deepened, and she jerked it away from his hand to instead bury it into the broad expanse of his chest.</p><p>“That–. That’s not wh-what I–. Ugh!” Muffled as they were, Miu’s words still reached his ears with how she shouted into his shirt. A whine crept into her tone. “I’m fine, y-you’re just… embarrassing meeee, carrying me like some… some kinda fuckin thick muscular knight in mud-brown armor or some shit.”</p><p>Gonta didn’t know whether that was a compliment or an insult. It was difficult to tell with Miu sometimes.</p><p>“Oh, I didn’t mean to, I’m really sorry. Should I… put you down then?”</p><p>Miu shook her head, surprising him with her vehemence. “N-no just… stay like this for a little while. Ok…?”</p><p>Well that contradicted what she’d said before about him embarrassing her, but if that was what she really wanted. Anything that made her feel more comfortable.</p><p>“Ok! Got it!”</p>
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<a name="section0067"><h2>67. {Saioumota} Chip on the ghost on your shoulder</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I have a couple Drabble prompts to throw at you for ghost! Rochi au so here's the first: Post game VRAU where Kokichi talks to a SHSL Medium or just a medium in general and gets to have a conversation with his dead bro. Bonus points if Oumota/Oumasai/saioumota.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito had never seen the color drain from someone’s face as fast as it did Kokichi’s. Eyes wide, he visibly flinched as if slapped by the words unwillingly received from a stranger.</p><p>Maybe not a complete stranger–they knew of their title as Ultimate Medium–but they’d never spoken to them in their lives.</p><p>And it pissed Kaito off.</p><p>“Hey! What the hell’s your problem?!” he snapped, raising a clenched fist.</p><p>Shuichi, although shaken by what the medium had said, glanced up at Kaito in alarm. He held up a hand, as if to placate him. “Kaito…”</p><p>He paid Shuichi little mind. It wasn’t like he was <em>actually</em> going to punch them, but god damn he wanted this person to know exactly how inappropriate they’d been. Claiming to see someone dear to one of them hanging around, desperate for the chance to meet again. Then specifying a twin, to remove all doubts of purposeful ambiguity.</p><p>“I’m serious. How could–? Why would you–?”</p><p>The idea of speaking to a ghost terrified him, but his anger on behalf of Kokichi, whom he <em>just recently</em> learned once had a brother who’d died when he was young, managed to override it for the moment.</p><p>Their eyes flickered to the raised fist, cowing at the aggressive action. Yet when they spoke, it was with confidence in their own talent.</p><p>“Some people find it helpful to speak to their loved ones who passed away,” they said, averting their eyes from Kaito. “And sometimes it helps the deceased find their own peace after their death.”</p><p>The latter statement made Kokichi stir. Although his face remained pale, he managed to find his voice at last. “You better not be–. What’s his name then, huh?”</p><p>A level gaze turned to the empty space at Kokichi’s side, as if something existed in that spot. The thought sent a chill down Kaito’s spine. As his anger faded, his apprehension grew. He tried to hold onto the same cautious skepticism Kokichi clearly had.</p><p>“He’s hesitant to speak to you through me,” they said, staring at the same spot. Before Kaito could call bullshit on their claim, they continued. “Kurochi is his name… Rochi, you called him.”</p><p>Then all at once, what little of his composure that Kokichi had managed to piece together suddenly shattered. Tears gathered in his eyes, nothing like the crocodile tears Kokichi was prone to. He looked to where the medium still stared, although just like to Kaito the spot was an empty one.</p><p>Anger on Kokichi’s behalf rose up, tinted with the prickle of fear at the back of his neck. Kaito didn’t know where to direct his rage however, so it sat uselessly on his head, making him grit his teeth.</p><p>“…Rochi?” Kokichi’s voice was small, a vulnerability that Kaito rarely heard there.</p><p>The medium inclined his head. “If you’d like, I could channel him so that you can speak to him directly. It could help him finally move on. It could also help you move on.”</p><p>Hesitance surfaced in his face at the offer. Kokichi bit his thumb. “I…”</p><p>Shuichi rested a hand on Kokichi’s shoulder. The contact made Kokichi jerk his face up, wide eyes meeting Shuichi’s. Open, without the mask that normally pressed firmly over his face. Shuichi squeezed his shoulder. “Whatever you want to do, Kaito and I will be with you.”</p><p>The hesitance that followed was brief. Then Kokichi nodded, vigorous and with a tremble that had started in his body. The words tumbled from his mouth, as if they couldn’t leave it fast enough.</p><p>“Yes, I do, I do, let me–. I want to speak to my brother, <em>please</em>.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0068"><h2>68. {No Ship Twins AU} Price for Resurrection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Second ghost!Rochi prompt: Kurochi finds a way to be revived and meets Kokichi again. However Kurochi had to give up something in order to be revived (i.e. his memories and/or his brother's memories of him, being human (like he's revived as a cat), a limb/one of his five senses... Go wild</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning: Magical amputation</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The revival feels like someone set fire to his body. Kurochi screams, in genuine pain for the first time in years as his body sags to the ground. Its solid beneath his knees, rocks digging into his skin. He falls onto his face, unused to supporting himself under the weight of gravity.</p>
<p>He gasps for air, and immediately chokes on the lungful of dust he inhaled.</p>
<p>Even as his body stabilizes, the pain doesn’t quite fade. Instead it concentrates in one area–his shoulder, where his arm locks into the socket. Or would, if it still existed. Without looking he knows that its missing, that as the incorporeal form turned solid, it stopped at his left arm. Its his price, the one he agreed on in desperation to see his brother again. More than anything, he needs to fix the mistakes he made back then.</p>
<p>Black encroaches on the edge of his vision. He attempts to rise, leans too far to the left and fails to catch himself with his missing limb. His head cracks against the ground, and everything goes dark.</p>
<p>————</p>
<p>It doesn’t take long for the trembling doubt to drain from Kokichi’s eyes. There’s something between them that he can’t deny, no matter how terrified of being tricked he might be. As soon as everything clicks, he’s running, throwing himself at his twin brother, whom he lost so long ago.</p>
<p>“<em>Rochi</em>! Rochi, it’s you, I-I can’t believe–. <em>How</em>?”</p>
<p>Kokichi pulls away, eyes darting to the missing arm, and blanches at the sight. “Rochi… Did–did that man–?”</p>
<p>Kurochi shakes his head, hard. The mention of the limb leaves his shoulder with a deep-rooted ache. He grits his teeth against the building pain and tugs Kokichi in for another hug. Hot tears roll down his cheeks. He grips his brother as tightly as he can manage; he never wants to let go. Not ever again.</p>
<p>“I missed you, I missed you so much Kii-chi.”</p>
<p>“I missed you too.”</p>
<p>The twins cry together, noisy sobs and messy faces as they cling to each other. Their relief is palpable, not a perfect salve for their shared heartache, but the beginning of a cure for the deep wounds carved into their chests.</p>
<p>No matter what, Kurochi decides, he won’t regret this decision. He’s lucky for the chance to live again, to be physically present at his brother’s side. Consequences are something he can worry about later, the rippling effects of his revival doubtless to come back to haunt him.</p>
<p>For now, he doesn’t think about it. He just lets himself cry with his brother, until both of their tears run out.</p>
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<a name="section0069"><h2>69. {No Ship Twins AU} After-death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Third ghost Rochi prompt: Kurochi being in the hanger with Kokichi when he dies and meeting him immediately after words in the afterlife</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for obvious character death</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito’s footsteps moved toward the control panel, falling heavy on the stairs, slippers dragging across concrete. Kokichi stared up at the top of the press, the cold grey ceiling that became his entire world at the end of his life. Alone, trembling from poison and freezing metal seeping into his skin through Kaito’s jacket.</p><p>If one of them had to die, at least it’d mean something.</p><p>Unbeknownst to him, he wouldn’t die alone. His twin, long-dead and invisible to the world, would be with him until the very end.</p><p>The crank of machinery roared in their ears, the press came down. The pain lasted all of an instant.</p><p>Nothing followed after.</p><p>…</p><p>Awareness returned in flickers, rising then ebbing away like the tide. Noises around, too muffled to make out, the hint of a smell–no, not a real smell. A memory of one, just barely out of reach. Home, the deceptively savory aroma of a tasteless meal.</p><p>“Kii-chi?”</p><p>The sound of his brother’s voice hooked his heart and reeled in the line, yanking Kokichi out of the darkness around him.</p><p>He opened his eyes.</p><p>His brother had changed; he looked nothing like the twelve year old last in his memories, but it was unmistakably Kurochi before him. All around him the world was shapeless, no color, no light nor dark, but he didn’t care a bit for their surroundings. He threw himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around him. Kurochi caught him, squeezing him tighter than Kokichi could ever remember being held in his life.</p><p>Before he knew it, he was crying.</p><p>And from the tremor of Kurochi’s voice, he knew that his brother was, too.</p><p>“I’m so sorry,” Kurochi said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave you, I wish I didn’t, and then you–. I–. I’m sorry.”</p><p>Kokichi shook his head. It hurt more to hear his brother apologize for the culmination of his suffering than anything else. “I just missed you so much. I wanted you back, every day, it hurt every day without you.”</p><p>“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to be there–I <em>was</em> there, but…”</p><p>It felt like a dream, to be holding his twin brother like this again. Kokichi knew better. Bit by bit, he pieced together reality, digging through the muddied memories of his last moments. He couldn’t remember the exact moment of his death, but he knew enough.</p><p>He could only hope that Kaito kept his end of the plan. Then his life would’ve been worth something. Then he could’ve saved someone for once, like he wished he could’ve done for Kurochi.</p><p>“…I never wanted you to die, too. I’d hoped…” Kurochi’s voice dragged him back to reality. Kokichi pulled back, hoping that he could see the lack of regret there.</p><p>“I’m glad that… in the end here, I ended up with you.”</p><p>Wherever they were. He didn’t want to ask.</p><p>Kurochi gazed at him with watery, guilt-ridden eyes. Biting his lower lip, he nodded, and buried his face into Kokichi’s shoulder. Although he sounded reluctant to admit it, he said, “I’m glad we’re together again, too.”</p><p>“I missed you so much, Rochi.”</p><p>“Yeah, I missed you too. Every day since then.”</p><p>“Nothing can tear us apart now though, right?”</p><p>“No. Nothing.”</p>
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<a name="section0070"><h2>70. {No Ship Holland Siblings} Post killing game nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I kinda want more Glenn and Jaden stuff so can we have Jaden having a nightmare over his killing game and Glenn comforts him?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaden woke up with his lungs burning, jerking his head back as he gasped for air. For a moment he didn’t know where he was, only that it was dark and the shadows loomed all around while his heart pounding wildly against his ribcage. Sweat soaked his clothes; they stuck to his skin and made him shudder against the sensation.</p><p>His panic subsided a second later as cool air filled his lungs. He gulped down the air, and his surroundings cleared.</p><p>Without his glasses, he couldn’t see much, but Jaden could work out the familiar blur of his living room. And next to him, where he’d been leaning in his sleep, his brother stirred from his own violent awakening. Glenn grunted, and opened his eyes.</p><p>“Jay…?” His voice was raspy with sleep. “What’s wrong, you ok?”</p><p>Jaden’s eyes shifted to Glenn’s other side, and saw Kokichi laying against him, Kurochi snuggled into his brother’s arms. The twins were still asleep. Somehow, the four of them had fallen asleep on the couch together.</p><p>Glenn followed his gaze. A second passed before he flicked his eyes back onto Jaden’s face. Moving carefully, so that he didn’t wake the other two, Glenn switched to ASL.</p><p>“Did you have a nightmare?”</p><p>Jaden hesitated. He already felt guilty for waking his brother, he didn’t want to further worry him. However, Glenn was more perceptive than some gave him credit for. That hesitation was enough to answer his question.</p><p>He wrapped an arm around Jaden and pulled him into a hug.</p><p>It was tight, almost crushing, but somehow it was exactly what Jaden needed to chase away the last vestiges of his dream. Jaden closed his eyes, letting the embrace ground him, trying not to let the guilt catch back up to him again, as it was so prone to doing since he’d returned to his family.</p><p>Dreams like this weren’t uncommon. They felt like they’d haunt Jaden for the rest of his life.</p><p>“I’m here for you, ok? No one’s gonna do anything like that to you ever again,” Glenn murmured, the words rumbling low in his chest.</p><p>Jaden nodded, and pressed his face into his brother’s shoulder.</p>
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<a name="section0071"><h2>71. {Kairochi} Pro-tip: when cursed, make use of a stone to absorb the curse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kaito has a plan that’s going to transform their lives–hopefully for the better. Kurochi is terrified, but his trust in Kaito outweighs his fear. Mermaid AU, where kisses shared between humans and mermaids cause them to switch places, and wipes the former’s memories.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What if it doesn’t work?” Kurochi’s dark eyes flashed with worry, like a purple-tinted stormy sky. His lips had parted, barely obscuring the needle-sharp rows of teeth behind them. They drew Kaito’s eyes down–Kurochi’s tongue darted out to wet them. “We can’t test this out. If it doesn’t work, it’s over. <em>Over</em>-over.”</p><p>The fear that colored his voice helped Kaito shake himself out of his distracted mindset. He ran his fingers along Kurochi’s cheekbone, who shuddered beneath the gentle touches. A pleasant shiver, he could only hope, but the concern hadn’t faded from Kurochi’s face.</p><p>“It’ll work.” Kaito left no room for doubt, speaking with the conviction he’d felt coming here, meeting with Kurochi as usual, and then pulling the merman into his lap before bringing up his plan. “I swear, it’ll work.”</p><p>Though clearly unconvinced, Kurochi still allowed Kaito to wind his arms around his waist, drawing him closer so that their torsos fit snug against each other. The tip of one of Kurochi’s fins tickled his shoulder, and Kaito had to resist the urge to scratch at it. Kurochi rested his knuckles against his chest, the tips of his claws curled inward and tucked into a fist so that he didn’t accidentally hurt Kaito with it. Soon though, there wouldn’t be any fear of that. Kaito couldn’t wait for Kurochi to run his fingers freely over his skin, touching and exploring Kaito’s body as the merman so wanted to do.</p><p>(It was mainly curiosity on Kurochi’s part, he knew, but Kaito wouldn’t deny that it made his entire body warm to think about the other touching him without reservation for once.)</p><p>Since Kurochi hadn’t responded though, Kaito continued, “<em>Trust me</em>. Let me try this for you, ok?”</p><p>Worried brows knitted together, the twist of Kurochi’s lips deepening in a frown. Slowly, he unfurled his hands, and twined his arms around Kaito’s neck. He pulled himself up to press their foreheads together and squeezed his eyes shut. His expression, his grip, everything conveyed his desperation, his fear. While he said nothing, Kaito understood from how Kurochi held onto him.</p><p>Kurochi was terrified to lose him. What they had.</p><p>Then, slowly, Kurochi pulled back, letting his arms slip away and giving Kaito the room to reach over to his bag. He flicked water from his fingertips before he peeled open the bag and slid his hand into it. He rooted around until his fingers brushed over cool stone, then withdrew a deep blue pebble from within.</p><p>Its smooth surface had been weathered down by the ocean, but the shimmering color was something unnatural. Webs of darker blues shifted along it, like the shining water’s surface under the sunlight, viewed from beneath the waves. Kurochi’s gaze snapped to the pebble, and worry gave way to wonder as he stared at the small magical stone.</p><p>Kaito pressed it into Kurochi’s hand and threaded their fingers together, the stone trapped between their pressed palms.</p><p>“I love you,” he said suddenly, swallowing down a nervous lump in his throat. Although Kaito knew that it’d work, on the off-chance it <em>didn’t</em>, he wanted Kurochi to remember those as his last words to him.</p><p>Not that they <em>would </em>be last words just… just in case.</p><p>“I love you, too.” Kurochi’s voice was barely above a whisper, pink dusting over his cheeks. He squeezed Kaito’s hand.</p><p>With his free hand threaded through Kurochi’s hair, he leaned down until their faces were a mere breath away. His heart did a flip just before their lips pressed together–tentative, unsure, soft. Kurochi’s mouth was warm, lips just as soft on his as Kaito imagined they’d be from the times he’d peppered kisses to his skin.</p><p>Their lips tingled from the contact, little sparks of both pleasure and something more physical spreading out from their mouths. Kurochi let out a whine into the kiss, his hold on Kaito tightening. He squirmed in Kaito’s lap–and just as expected, the shape of his tail draped over Kaito’s legs shifting and changing into something else.</p><p>The transformation should’ve seeped into Kaito, passing the form along time from him and suppressing his memories. Instead, the stone pressed between their hands absorbed the magic. As the fins and scales shrunk away, and Kurochi’s tail separated into legs, the stone protected Kaito from the curse.</p><p>When the two finally separated, the boy in his lap had changed completely. Without the fins and the sharp teeth, his facial features somehow looked more delicate than they had before, but his purple eyes were more vibrant and alive than Kaito could ever recall seeing before. His lips were red from the kiss, glistening and parted in a pant.</p><p>Kurochi glanced down at himself, raising one slender leg from the water. He wiggled his toes and gasped.</p><p>“I-it worked!” His foot splashed back down into the water and he whipped his head back to Kaito, his face shining with glee. An unrestrained smile broke out, and he laughed as he threw both arms around him. The stone held between their hands dropped into the ocean, subsequently lost to them forever.</p><p>Kaito didn’t worry about it. Kurochi’s laughter was infectious. He wrapped his arms around Kurochi’s waist, squeezing the newly-made human boy against him.</p><p>It took a moment for him to realize that he was holding a very nude Kurochi in his lap. Heat and embarrassment shot through him. Somehow before it hadn’t mattered, with scales forming his lower body. Now, Kaito was remembering just how very attracted to Kurochi he was.</p><p>And subsequently felt guilty for such thoughts, with how innocent Kurochi’s excitement was.</p><p>“Told you it would. I did my research,” Kaito said, grinning at him.</p><p>“Thank you, I love you so much.” Kurochi grabbed the sides of Kaito’s face and kissed him hard, pulling away again before Kaito could get over his surprise. “I can’t believe–. Thank you, thank you.”</p><p>“Geez, you sound like you didn’t believe I could figure out a way to make it work like I told you.” He took on a tone of mock-offense.</p><p>Kurochi gave him a wry smile. “Honestly? I didn’t.”</p><p>Kaito had intended to pull out the clothes he’d brought for Kurochi–his own, which would no doubt be way too big on him, but they could deal with that later–and get him dressed, but the readiness with which Kurochi spoke struck him silent with an indignant sputter. Kurochi giggled at the look on his face.</p><p>“Sorry, sorry,” he said.</p><p>And kissed him again, still giggling as their lips met.</p>
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<a name="section0072"><h2>72. {Kairochi} A dummy's guide to exploring your sexuality</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A short nsfw-ish kairochi drabble, because Kurochi being able to explore his sexuality in healthy ways is so good. Also because I love kairochi.</p><p>Also disclaimer, there's no actual educational value in this lol</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi’s breath left him in a needy whine. He shivered as Kaito’s fingertips grazed over his neck, followed soon by the wet heat of his mouth as he closed his lips on his skin. A strangled noise squeaked out.</p><p>Kaito chuckled at his reaction, the vibrations against his neck tickling him. Kurochi bit his lip, the healthy flush that spread across his face no doubt as obvious as it felt.</p><p>“I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”</p><p>He curled his fingers into the front of Kaito’s shirt, barely any room for his hands between their bodies. His face burned so hot that he could practically see the red glow of his own blush cast over Kaito’s face.</p><p>“I-I’m not–no–ahh.” Kurochi’s voice broke into a moan. Kaito’s teeth lightly working at his skin distracted him from what he’d been trying to say. It didn’t help when he hummed his doubt, and his mind grew hazy in a pleasurable fog that Kurochi never wanted to find his way out of.</p><p>Where was he–oh right.</p><p>“It’s just you, just you, god <em>Kaito</em>.”</p><p>He’d never felt so good. He never thought it <em>could</em> feel so good as it did just with Kaito kissing his neck. Kurochi rolled his head back, it rested against the wall behind him. His hands unclenched just long enough to wrap around Kaito’s shoulders, pulling, tugging, silently <em>begging</em> for him to be closer.</p><p>“<em>Please</em>.”</p><p>Kurochi wanted to know just how good Kaito could make him feel, if this was just the beginning.</p>
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<a name="section0073"><h2>73. {Saimota} Confessing under the stars, but you're sweaty and feel a bit gross</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: things you said under the stars and in the grass. Shuichi and Kaito? could be platonic or romantic either way i love them both. please and thank you!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi’s back hit the grass, his limbs thoroughly exhausted, but the exhilaration that followed a good work out was well-worth the energy spent. Which didn’t make it any easier to drag himself out of bed to do it, but Kaito wouldn’t let either of them miss a single night.</p><p>He felt the faint vibrations through the ground when Kaito dropped down next to him. When he turned his face to him, he saw Kaito gazing up at the stars, skin glistening with sweat under the moonlight and hair disheveled from vigorous exercise. Shuichi caught his eyes lingering too long–on the strong curve of his jaw, the way his lips slightly parted in a pant as they rested–and he quickly tore them away.</p><p>More than ever recently, Shuichi noticed his gaze finding Kaito, picking him out of a room even when he was speaking to someone else. He started noticing the way his eyes warmed under the right lighting, and how his lips flushed red after working out, just as they were now.</p><p>It was difficult to avoid those thoughts. His heart beat quicker, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep silent–</p><p>“Shuichi?”</p><p>The low, inquisitive tone brought Shuichi’s thoughts to a slow crawl. He turned his eyes back to Kaito’s face, and his heart did a quick stutter-stop when their gazes locked. It was wholly unfair how easily Kaito could affect him, without even meaning to.</p><p>“What’s up? You’ve been kinda quiet tonight.”</p><p>Shuichi swallowed, but he forced himself to keep his gaze steady. He didn’t know what it was–the stars, the moon, the silent night, his racing heart–but the words came to his lips before he was fully conscious of them.</p><p>“I like you, Kaito. I <em>really</em> like you, I find you really attractive and it’s just–.” Shuichi’s face burned by the time he abruptly stopped speaking. He turned away and quickly sat up. “Sorry, sorry, that came out wr–. Don’t worry about it, I–.”</p><p>In the embarrassment that followed his impulsive confession, all he could think about was getting away. He went to stand, still mumbling barely-coherent apologies.</p><p>“Woah, hey wait.”</p><p>Kaito sat up, grabbing his shoulder to keep him from leaving. Shuichi bit his lip hard, his escape thwarted and anxiety raging like a fire in his gut. He opened his mouth, intending to say more but his voice wouldn’t come forth.</p><p>“I don’t know–I’d hug you right now, but we’re both sweaty and that’ll just feel gross for both of us, but… hey, look at me.” Kaito waited until Shuichi did so before he continued, “That really surprised me, but I think… no, that’s not right, after hearing you say that I’m <em>sure</em> that I feel the same way.”</p><p>It was those words under the stars that stole Shuichi’s breath away. If not for the soreness encroaching on his muscles, he’d assume that it was a cruelly sweet dream.</p><p>Then tomorrow the grass stains on his clothes and the meaningful looks Kaito would give him would remind him that this entire night hadn’t been a dream later.</p>
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<a name="section0074"><h2>74. {Saioumota} Finding amusement on the sober side of a drinking night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 11. things you said when you were drunk - Saioumota? Maybe with Kokichi being the drunk one?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Your dumb… <em>hair</em>! How come you do that when… when you look so stupidly good if you don’t.”</p><p>Kaito frowned as Kokichi leaned heavily against his side. He had one hand steadying himself on Kaito’s shoulder, the other clumsily threading through his hair. The gel held it firm, but his efforts managed to mess it up somewhat, to Kaito’s faint annoyance. Shuichi held a hand over his mouth, hiding his amused smile.</p><p>“You’re drunk,” Kaito told him, carefully disentangling Kokichi’s fingers from his hair.</p><p>“Well duh, but yoooou’re still dumb.” Kokichi let Kaito pull his hand and flopped across his lap. His head landed in Shuichi’s lap and, once the room had stopped spinning, he blinked up at the other. “And <em>you…</em>”</p><p>Shuichi couldn’t stop smiling. “Yes?”</p><p>Kokichi hauled himself across so that he could sit up and take Shuichi’s face in his hands. It’d be a loving action normally, but in this case it squished his cheeks together and only made Shuichi want to laugh.</p><p>“You’re eyes are too… pretty. It’s not fair, do you have any idea what it does to people. Like Kaito is <em>always</em> talking about how you make his heart do flips when you look at him and he wants to kiss you and push you against a wall and–.”</p><p>“<em>Alright</em>, no more of that!” Kaito cut in, and Shuichi chuckled as he reached up to take hold of Kokichi’s hands.</p><p>He pried them from his cheeks and kissed the backs of each hand. “I’ll take that as a compliment… thank you, Kokichi.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0075"><h2>75. {No Ship Twins AU} So happy it must be a dream, but it's real life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 19. things you said when we were the happiest we ever were (Twins please! Gotta have the Ouma twins be happy)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi’s mind buzzed with thoughts, keeping him awake well into the night. If he glanced at the clock on the wall behind him, he’d see that his excitement had him awake at nearly two in the morning, with no sleep in sight. He shifted, tugging the blanket so that it didn’t fall away as he flipped over onto his other side.</p><p>Behind him, Kokichi stirred. “Rochi? You still awake?” he whispered, the lack of exhaustion in his voice hinting that he hadn’t managed to fall asleep either.</p><p>“Yeah,” he whispered back as he stared through the dim lighting of the moon slipping in between the blinds, at the shadowy shape of the cot, and the person stretched out on top of it. “I can’t sleep.”</p><p>“Me neither. I’m kinda scared that I’m gonna sleep and then…”</p><p>Although Kokichi trailed off, Kurochi picked up the end of his sentence. “…then it’ll all be just a dream.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>How cruel it’d be to wake up in the morning, to find out that this evening had been a figment of his imagination. The pure joy, the ecstasy in finding a long-lost loved one, to be reunited with their mom that they’d thought was dead for over a decade now. Although the bed couldn’t be big enough for the three of them, the twins had both still wanted her nearby, so that they could be assured that their mom wouldn’t be stolen from them again.</p><p>Unbidden, a giggle rose to Kurochi’s lips. Not that it was funny, but the bubbling happiness of their reunion drew the reaction out of him.</p><p>After life had taken (and taken, and taken) so much from them, it was surreal that they could have their mom back–and <em>that man</em> was gone forever. Tears stung at his eyes; he almost couldn’t believe it.</p><p>“I think,” he murmured, that little cautious bud in his chest blossoming into a hope so strong that it physically shook him. “This… I think things might start being ok for us. I think it’s going to be ok.”</p><p>Kokichi pressed his forehead to his back, and softly shared in Kurochi’s hope.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0076"><h2>76. {Oumaede} Lullabies to fall asleep to</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: things you said too quietly + oumaede</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sorry if I woke you up.”</p><p>“Geez, if you apologize first it takes all the fun out of complaining!” Kokichi flounced into the room and threw himself down onto the bench next to Kaede. “Just for that, I’m gonna sit right here and bother you until you go to bed.”</p><p>Kaede rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “Right. Sorry, sorry. If you want I’ll play you a lullaby to help you go back to sleep.”</p><p>If Kokichi complained further, she’d already launched into a song and didn’t hear his grumblings. She lost herself in the music, playing a simple melody that she went back to frequently, a song memorized early into her life. At some point, she was vaguely aware of a weight against her side, Kokichi’s head leaning on her shoulder.</p><p>She simply continued to play, until there were no more notes and the music faded into silence. They sat there, nothing but their joined breaths and beating hearts to fill the room.</p><p>Kokichi mumbled something. Kaede tilted her head.</p><p>“Hm? What was that?”</p><p>“Nothing. Just thinking about how you’re cruelly depriving me of sleep by playing your music instead of coming to bed already!” Kokichi hopped up to his feet, and grabbed Kaede’s arm to tug her up as well. “C’mon, let’s <em>go</em> geeez.”</p><p>“Ok, ok! Fine, let’s go,” she relented with a long-suffering sigh. She was sure that Kokichi was acting like a brat just to get her out of the piano room. Otherwise Kaede would be up all night practicing, and they both knew that. So she couldn’t complain too heavily.</p><p>But that didn’t stop her from being vaguely annoyed as he dragged her away.</p><p>It was only later that she processed what he’d said to her, when they had fallen into bed and the lights were off and Kokichi faking a snore to her chagrin. Although he’d said it quietly, so quietly that her ears had barely picked up on it, and it took so long for her to realize what it was, it still hit her. Just thinking about it warmed her heart, and she smiled at the boy laying next to her, pretending to already be asleep.</p><p>He’d said something that sounded strikingly like ‘I love you’.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0077"><h2>77. {Platonic Kurochi+Kaede} Cipher Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Platonic Kurochi and Kaede (things you said at 1 am)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede hadn’t expected to find Kurochi in the library, especially not so late into the night. When she slid the door open, he didn’t react to the sound, nor did he acknowledge her until she’d nearly reached the table he sat at. Then it was only a brief glance, his eyes flickering up from the sheet of paper he was hunched over, before he went back to writing. He didn’t try and hide it from her.</p><p>And she saw why when she looked at it. Although by then he’d written nearly to the bottom of the page, it was covered in symbols that meant nothing to her. He wrote as if he perfectly understood, but Kaede couldn’t read it at all. They certainly didn’t look like any alphabet system she’d ever seen, so she didn’t know even what language it was supposed to be.</p><p>She wondered briefly what kind of languages he and Kokichi spoke, before deciding it best to just ask him directly.</p><p>“Hey, what’re you writing?” she asked, linking her hands behind her back.</p><p>Kurochi hummed. “Not really anything, just practicing mostly,” he said, but didn’t elaborate in his response.</p><p>“At one in the morning? Instead of sleeping?” She was doubtful that it couldn’t be something important, writing in an unfamiliar language while everyone else was asleep.</p><p>“You’re not sleeping either,” he pointed out, a hint of annoyance in his tone. He didn’t look up at her at all when he spoke.</p><p>Alright, point taken. Kaede sighed. While Kurochi was annoyed with her for something that sounded like hypocrisy, she couldn’t help but feel irritated that it was like pulling teeth just for a simple answer. If it was just practice like he claimed, then he shouldn’t avoid her questions like it was actually a secret.</p><p>Kaede decided to pull back for the moment, and tackled a different approach. “I guess it’s hard to sleep, with everything that’s happened and all. I’ve been up all night and just decided to go for a walk. Can’t help feeling… scared, you know?”</p><p>Kurochi paused. He set down the pencil, although he didn’t look at her. “Yeah… I know.”</p><p>She waited, and for a while it seemed like Kurochi wouldn’t continue. She’d hoped that by being a little honest with him it would encourage him to be a little honest with her, but she supposed that agreement was all that she’d get from either of these twins. Figuring that she might as well leave him alone to his writing, she was just about to leave when he finally spoke up again.</p><p>“I came here looking for something to read… anything really, but nothing looked interesting. Then I found some paper and some pencils and… just started working on this.” He tapped the paper with his index finger. “It’s just… when I was a kid I worked on his little secret code, and I kinda missed it. So I just started writing whatever came to mind.”</p><p>“What’s it say?”</p><p>His lips twitched, a hint of a smile appearing for a brief second, before they smoothed back out into a neutral line. “I’ll tell you if you can figure it out yourself.”</p><p>“Hey, that’s not fair. I don’t know how to do stuff like this,” she protested.</p><p>“Here, I’ll teach you. It’s really easy, promise.” The smile turned up again, this time lingering as he motioned for her to sit. After she’d taken the chair next to him, he said, “First, it’s in English; that’ll help you solve it.”</p><p>He underlined a pair of symbols. “See how these are the same? There’s some really common letters that appear as double letters a lot in words. Double-o, double-t, double-e… and you can start off your key with potential letters each symbol might be.”</p><p>Kaede bent over the paper with him as he pressed the pencil into her hand. With a low voice, he guided her through the letters, never telling her what something was, but explaining what each might be and how to arrive at a conclusion. An hour ticked by without her realizing, and she only stopped once her back started to ache and her head felt like it was going to explode. She groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples. The paper was filled with scribbles, letters, and crossed-out things, but she was no closer to solving it as she had been at the beginning of their conversation.</p><p>“This is way too hard, I don’t know how you do something like this,” she whined, slumping across the table in defeat.</p><p>He laughed at her–actually, genuinely laughed. “Sorry. You’re doing really well though.”</p><p>“Really?” she asked, doubtful.</p><p>“No,” he said, straight-faced. Then he grinned. “Yes. You are. It’s pretty difficult if you don’t know how to solve this kind of thing, so you’re making progress.”</p><p>“Well I think I’m ready to sleep now–I’m exhausted after that. Will you tell me what it says now?” Kaede pushed her chair back, ready to stand up.</p><p>“Nope. I think you can get it, so I’m still making you solve it on your own,” he said, and laughed at her indignant expression. “We can practice more tomorrow if you want. It’s kinda fun watching you struggle with something I made when I was just a little kid.”</p><p>Rude. She huffed at him, of half a mind to refuse. But he looked so amused, so carefree even in the situation they found themselves in, that Kaede didn’t have the heart to reject his offer. “Sure. Tomorrow I’m definitely going to solve it for sure, then.”</p><p>“We’ll see about that.”</p><p>They walked back to the dorms together, and she bid him a good night as they separated to go into their individual rooms. True to word, she had no problem falling asleep after the mental exertions that secret code had put her brain through. While part of her didn’t look forward to forcing herself through it again, the other part did want to spend a little more time with Kurochi.</p><p>Maybe tomorrow she’d learn more about him, and he’d confide in her a little more. Both he and his brother looked like they could use someone that they could rely on.</p><p>At least, someone outside of each other.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0078"><h2>78. {Kairochi} The rain patters down and the city sleeps</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 18 or 29... Kairochi... I love, thank - things you said in the rain</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Damn, it’s really coming down now isn’t it?” Kaito looked out into the curtain of rain, a downpour that they were spared only thanks to the overhang of the coffee shop’s patio.</p><p>Next to him, Kurochi shivered as he nodded, the slight chill of the air doubtlessly not helped by the cold fizzy refresher he held. A poor choice considering the weather, but one that was only natural when he didn’t enjoy most of the coffee drinks. He couldn’t exactly taste them, after all.</p><p>Kaito noted that however, and jerked his thumb toward the entrance of the shop. “Wanna go back inside? Doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.”</p><p>Kurochi didn’t respond right away. He stared into the rain, lips parted as his mind ran with thoughts that Kaito couldn’t begin to guess at. Finally, he shook his head and reached out to take Kaito’s free hand. His fingers were stiff and freezing from holding his drink, but Kaito didn’t flinch away. He only wrapped his hand around Kurochi’s cold one, rubbing his thumb over the back to warm it up somewhat.</p><p>“Can we sit out here for a bit?” he asked, turning his face up to Kaito’s in order to give him a pleading, lost-puppy sort of look that he couldn’t refuse if he wanted to.</p><p>“I guess, but why do you want to?”</p><p>While the overhang would keep them dry, Kaito couldn’t fathom why Kurochi would rather sit in the cold, wet air rather than inside waiting for the rain to slow down. And it seemed like Kurochi wouldn’t answer, falling silent again as he tugged Kaito over to a table and slid into a chair. Kaito dragged a chair next to his so that he could put his arm around Kurochi’s small shivering form.</p><p>Kurochi sighed softly, leaning into the warmth of Kaito’s casual embrace. Then he spoke, a far-off dreamy quality to his voice that suggested that his thoughts were elsewhere.</p><p>“I don’t know. When it’s raining it just feels… safe out here. You know?”</p><p>As if suddenly self-conscious, Kurochi glanced up at him, eyes searching. While Kaito didn’t quite get the same feeling about the rain that Kurochi did, he wasn’t about to invalidate his boyfriend’s thoughts. He rested his cheek against the top of Kurochi’s head, squeezing him reassuringly.</p><p>‘Safe’ might not be the right word to him, there was a certain peace that heavy rainfall brought, the lull of the rain hitting the streets, the overhang, the leaves on trees planted nearby. It drove people inside, and made him feel like the two of them were alone in the world. For the moment, at least.</p><p>Maybe that appealed to Kurochi on some level. Kaito hoped that he could get him to talk to him about it sometime.</p><p>“Yeah. I think I get what you mean.”</p>
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<a name="section0079"><h2>79. {Oumota} Interpreting prompts as loosely as possible to suit my needs since 2002</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Stuck in a small space</p><p>TWEWY au. Day one of the Reaper’s Game, and Kaito is off to a rocky start. In a situation where one needs to rely on their partner, a liar is about the worst that he can be stuck with.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>A palm struck him in the center of the face, jarring him from unconsciousness. He shouted, grabbing for and missing the offending hand. As he blinked rapidly to clear his vision in order to see his supposed attacker, he realized one significant problem with that.</p>
  <p>Everything around him was dark–not a bit of light filtered into the space to allow his eyes to adjust. He couldn’t see a damn thing.</p>
  <p>But he could feel someone. Close, the heat of their body faint, and their presence slight, but they were close enough that Kaito could touch them by leaning forward. Which he did, slumping against them in retaliation for the hit.</p>
  <p>“Hey! What was that for?”</p>
  <p>“Oof! <em>Wow</em>! You’re not a corpse after all–<em>phew</em>. Here I thought I got tricked and was getting framed for murder here.” The person’s voice was familiar to him. And as Kaito further drew himself into the present, who it was grew clearer. “Actually, that’s a lie. I’m the one who stuffed you in here. I was kinda hoping you died, though. Oopsie! Murder attempt failed.”</p>
  <p>“Kokichi–.”</p>
  <p>Unheeding Kaito’s words, Kokichi continued his chatter, keeping up a playful tone even as he spoke of killing and death. “Well, I guess we’re dead anyway, so it’d be hard to kill you a second time.”</p>
  <p>“Kokichi, shut <em>up</em>.”</p>
  <p>“You’re so loud. I think I liked you better as a corpse… ah-hah! Here it is!” There was a turn, a grinding of metal, and a click. Everything began to pitch forward. “The doorkno–ack!”</p>
  <p>As the door swung open, a burst of light blinded Kaito just as the world turned topsy-turvy. The two tumbled out onto hard pavement, a tangle of flailing limbs getting in each other’s way of stopping their fall. They landed in an impact that stunned them both. For a long moment they laid there, with mutual pained groans echoing down the underpass they found themselves in.</p>
  <p>Above them, Kaito could here the murmur of voices, people and cars going by overhead.</p>
  <p>He shook his head and stood.</p>
  <p>“Woah, hey, you alright, Kokichi?”</p>
  <p>Kokichi shot him an angry, teary-eyed look. “You mean after you <em>crushed me</em>? I think you broke all my bones, I need you to carry me for the rest of the game.”</p>
  <p>“Ok yeah, I think you’re fine.” Kaito rolled his eyes. It hadn’t been his fault that they’d been so close together. Stuffed in a… closet of some kind?</p>
  <p>He glanced over his shoulder to confirm. Yet the only thing there was a concrete wall, painted over with graffiti and yet more cheap paint meant to erase it, a war which neither side would ever win. Definitely no closet. Or any door to speak of.</p>
  <p>What the hell?</p>
  <p>“Geez, you’re so heartless, Kaito. And here I was thinking about partnering up with you and everything.” Despite his moaning, Kokichi got to his feet with ease, even hopping once to further show how much lasting damage did <em>not</em> happen in that fall.</p>
  <p>“Uh-huh, sure.”</p>
  <p>Kaito hadn’t wanted to partner up with Kokichi anyway. The way he’d had it explained to him, there were plenty of other potential partners. It was just a matter of getting to them before they found somebody else.</p>
  <p>He scanned the empty underpass–then paled at the bright red symbol headed straight for them. A Noise symbol. And they were sitting, unpartnered ducks.</p>
  <p>“On second thoooought….” Kokichi had seen the symbol too, yet he still drew out his words as if he didn’t have a care in the world as if danger wasn’t approaching them. “I think I’ll give you the privilege of being my minion in this game. Every evil leader needs one, you know.”</p>
  <p>“Just shut the fuck up and partner with me, Ko–.”</p>
  <p>Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of white shot through his head, filling his optic nerves with a blinding mass of popping lights. Thoughts surged in his mind–his own, Kokichi’s, in that moment he couldn’t tell him apart. For that instant, Kaito was separated from his physical form.</p>
  <p>Then just as quickly as it’d happened, yet at the same time after an eternity, it ended. Just in time for the sigil to overtake them, and transported them to another reality. He was alone, yet some deeper connection within him told him that he wasn’t <em>fighting</em> alone. Kaito didn’t understand it, but for now he could only trust his gut.</p>
  <p>Maybe being partnered up with Kokichi wouldn’t be that bad.</p>
</div>
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<a name="section0080"><h2>80. {Oumota} Is it technically a genderbend if he’s a gorgon-like monster, since the gorgons were three sisters?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Monster AU</p><p>Kokichi is the leader of a massive secret organization, helped by the intimidating snakes that make up his hair that can turn enemies into stone. Unfortunately they don’t help as much when your boyfriend is acting affectionate and it’s affecting your cool outer exterior.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Heh, I think it’s into this.”</p><p>Kokichi huffed, crossing his arms. Despite the indignant attitude he’d adopted, he knew the heat in his cheeks would form a visible dusting of pink. Even so, he didn’t want to <em>admit</em> that the gentle scratching felt pleasant, no matter what. Kaito would never let him hear the end to it.</p><p>“It’s just trying to make you feel better about how big and clumsy your fingers actually are.”</p><p>Unfortunately, the snakes that made up Kokichi’s hair didn’t help the lie any. The one under Kaito’s ministrations nudged its head up into his hand, a rather purr-like hiss coming from it. Meanwhile the others crowded around, vying for his attention.</p><p>Those little traitors of Kokichi’s <em>own</em> body.</p><p>And with the way Kaito chuckled and raised the snake to his lips to press a kiss to the top of its head, he didn’t believe Kokichi’s words for a second. Stupid… Even if it did feel nicer than he cared to admit.</p>
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<a name="section0081"><h2>81. {Oumota} There's fake dating, but it's not the fake dating trope unfortunately</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Fake dating</p><p>When you sneak around an abusive parent, it helps to have a close supportive friend who doesn’t mind pretending to be your girlfriend so you can see your actual boyfriend.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: (mostly implied) abuse, homophobia (talked about mainly, not featured)</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede let out a long sigh as the front door finally closed behind her, leaning back against the solid wood for a few seconds to steady herself. While not overtly threatening to her person, asking for permission for Kokichi to come over to her house had her nerves frayed and sparking. She was glad to have it behind her.</p><p>“That’s always so nervewracking,” she admitted aloud to the room, and rested one hand over her chest. “My heart’s still beating so fast.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, he’s probably already installed secret cameras in here, so you won’t be safe no matter where you go!” Kokichi chirped from where he’d already settled onto the couch. Then, after a beat, he said, “Just kidding. He probably doesn’t care about you at all. Maybe as a future trophy wife for me or something…”</p><p>She shuddered, and disguised her visceral reaction by stomping her foot. “Oh shut up, don’t say things like that. <em>Geez</em>.”</p><p>“Yeah, c’mon Kokichi. She’s doing this for y–. For <em>us</em>, you know,” Kaito said, breaking into their exchange. He’d already been at Kaede’s house before the other two had arrived, waiting just as anxiously for her to successfully retrieve Kokichi.</p><p>Now that he had Kokichi by his side though, some of those nerves could be assuaged.</p><p>Kokichi puffed out his cheeks, leaning into Kaito’s side, who automatically wrapped an arm around him. Although he appeared vaguely annoyed, pouting childishly, Kaito could feel the light tremor running through Kokichi’s body. He resisted the urge to squeeze him tightly–who knew what unseen injuries that might aggravate, if he wasn’t careful.</p><p>“Well that last bit is true…” Kokichi muttered, turning his face into Kaito’s chest. “Kaede only makes a good girlfriend in his eyes ‘cuz she’s a famous pianist.”</p><p>Silence hung thick in the air between the three of them following those words. Where Kaede had agreed to be Kokichi’s fake girlfriend, to put on a front for his father while orchestrating secret dates between him and his <em>actual</em> partner, the very real danger of their mutual lie remained in the forefront of all of their minds. If that man somehow found out that it was a falsehood, and Kokichi was dating a boy…</p><p>Kaito didn’t want to think of what might happen to Kokichi then.</p><p>Kaede was the one to break the uncomfortable tension, clearing her throat to break the silence.</p><p>“Well do you two lovebirds want anything to drink?” she asked, her light-hearted tone not quite convincing. When both of them declined, she said, “In that case, I’ll be in my music room. Just knock if you need anything. Other than that, enjoy your date!”</p><p>Giving each of them a warm smile, Kaede took her leave. They listened to her footsteps fading down the hall, then the sound of a door closing. Then, at last, they were alone.</p><p>“Damn, Kaede’s a pretty great friend, isn’t she?”</p><p>“Mm-hm,” Kokichi agreed, the sound muffled into Kaito’s shirt.</p><p>He frowned, worried about his boyfriend’s current state. Though it was understandable how he might behave on any given day, considering his home life, it bothered Kaito that it took so much effort to get Kokichi to tell him anything that happened to him. He wanted so badly to help. Even if he did understand that his situation made it near impossible to easily confide in anyone.</p><p>Including his boyfriend.</p><p>“I missed you, you know,” Kaito said, kissing the top of Kokichi’s head. Normally the action would in a dramatic one from the other, making exaggerated disgusted faces as he wiped away the kiss and ‘all the gross cooties’ that came with it.</p><p>Not this time, however. Kokichi managed to pull his face from hiding to give him a smile tinted by sarcasm. “You just saw me at school yesterday,” he pointed out, teasing.</p><p>“So? I miss you all the time when I’m not with you.”</p><p>Especially since they could rarely act romantic with each other, even at school. Someone might see and let it slip to Kokichi’s father. They couldn’t risk it. Kaito didn’t say any of that, though. Kokichi didn’t need anymore guilt than he probably already felt for their situation.</p><p>“Sappy.” Sounding more like himself, Kokichi slid his hands up Kaito’s chest, cupping his face between them. “Lucky I love you.”</p><p>“Funny.” Kaito leaned down to press his lips against Kokichi’s. “I feel the same way about you."</p>
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<a name="section0082"><h2>82. {Hoshimatsu} Taking Flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: 33. things you said from across the room + Ryoma and Kaede</p><p>Winged AU just because I feel like it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede abruptly shoved away from the table, chair legs screeching over the tile until she had enough room to stand. Ryoma winced at the sound, feathers raising slightly at the harsh sound. He glanced over at her, wings stretched wide behind her and arms reaching over her head. She held the position for a few seconds, then released with a long sigh.</p><p>“Hey, let’s go outside!” she said as she crossed the room, making a beeline for the wide window at the front of the house. She peered outside. “It’s beautiful today.”</p><p>She spun then towards him. Too close to the window, one of her wings thumped against the glass as she twirled. The sun streamed in behind her, surrounding her with a ring of light that made it look as if she was glowing. A fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips.</p><p>“Yeah. It is,” he agreed, though he didn’t mean the same thing she did.</p><p>Before he started spending time with Kaede, he hadn’t flown in years, exercising his wings only enough to keep the muscles from deteriorating. Now barely a day went by where he didn’t. So when she held out a hand, he got up and joined her at the window, slipping his hand into hers.</p><p>The smile she gave in response warmed his heart more than anything in the world can. Even the heart-lifting thrill of flight.</p>
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<a name="section0083"><h2>83. {Kairochi} There’s something powerful in talking about one’s trauma, on one’s own terms, and finding validation in someone one cares deeply about</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Shame, bashfulness, anger</p><p>Kurochi confides in Kaito.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: Implied past sexual abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>What</em>?”</p><p>While not surprised by the reaction, Kurochi still cringed from the harsh tone that ripped from Kaito’s mouth in the silence that followed his explanation. His fingers trembled in the aftermath of speaking up–openly, honestly, willingly, for the first time in his life–and Kurochi still didn’t know whether he’d come to regret it.</p><p>He dropped his eyes down to his lap and clasped his hands together. His knuckles turned white from how hard he squeezed, and he found himself no longer brave enough to look his boyfriend in the eye, too afraid of what he might find there. Logically, Kaito would be sympathetic; he’d express the steady compassion that he always had for Kurochi. And yet he still couldn’t look up. The tiny, minuscule, nigh <em>impossible</em> chance that he might see disgust there had him paralyzed.</p><p>“Kurochi…”</p><p>Kaito’s tone was difficult to pinpoint. Unlike his abrupt question from before, he spoke Kurochi’s name quietly, his voice rolling like a wave beneath him. It was present, it moved him, but it ultimately had no force behind it.</p><p>And Kurochi didn’t know how to respond, so he continued to stare at his lap. Unbidden, tears sprang to his eyes. Weird, how nothing happened and yet he so badly wanted to cry.</p><p>Then out of nowhere, a hand came into his periphery. He flinched before he registered what was happening and yanked his body away with such force that he lost balanced and flattened against the bed. Chest heaving, he jerked his face up, wildly fearful eyes meeting the wide, shocked ones of Kaito.</p><p>The hand he’d tried to touch Kurochi with hovered in the air for a few seconds longer.</p><p>“Hey, hey, I’m not going to… here.” Slowly, as if afraid of startling Kurochi again, Kaito lowered his hand back down to the covers. “Sorry. Should’ve asked if it was ok first.”</p><p>Shame flooded Kurochi’s senses. The stinging tears grew hot, and welled up until fat tears rolled down his cheeks. He sat up, choking on a pitiful sob. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>The apology came impulsively to his lips as a desperate need to take back all that he told Kaito took hold of him. It felt like he’d cracked open the darkest parts of himself, to show him the filth that stained parts of his soul. The feeling left him torn–part of him wanted the validation that he wasn’t broken, that he was still someone worthy of love, while the other part wanted to hide away, so that he couldn’t taint his boyfriend with cracked pieces that couldn’t ever be scrubbed clean.</p><p>Kaito leaned towards him; the mattress dipped as he put his weight on the hand closest to him. In the same quiet, calm tone he’d taken before, he insisted, “You have <em>nothing</em> to apologize for, Kurochi. It’s those… those fucking… <em>monsters</em>. They did that to you and you–. Goddammit, you didn’t fucking deserve that!”</p><p>The anger returned, like the rising tide. This time it didn’t shock Kurochi back into himself. He didn’t flinch away, but laughed without humor, tear tracks staining his cheeks as the urge to cry faded away.</p><p>“You’re right… I didn’t. I-I just wish… I wish, I’d…”</p><p>Kurochi trailed off then, quaking heart unable to give voice to the desire. He wished he could’ve stopped it. If he were braver, stronger… If he’d told somebody early on… If he did this, or that, or any of the other scenarios that played endlessly through his head.</p><p>His eyes fell again. “It doesn’t matter though. Back then, I couldn’t do anything… I couldn’t stop what happened.”</p><p>“It’s over now,” Kaito said firmly. “No one’s ever gonna hurt you like that again and–. I’m proud of you for saying something now, damn it. And I’m going to be here, got that? However you need me, I’m here for you.”</p><p>After a brief hesitation, Kurochi slumped over against Kaito’s chest. He opened his arms immediately to catch him, and wrapped Kurochi up in a warm hug. Beneath his ear he could hear Kaito’s heartbeat, its steady pulse drumming his unwavering love for Kurochi against the side of his head.</p><p>He closed his eyes and listened to its beat.</p><p>“I know you are…” he murmured, and didn’t pull away from the embrace. “Thank you, Kaito. <em>Really</em>… thank you.”</p>
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<a name="section0084"><h2>84. {One-sided Shuochi} I mean you could write an essay about the problematic aspects of hanahaki disease, but also it’s got some poetic angst to it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: unrequited love, selfishness</p><p>Things would be easier if Kurochi could just choose to stop loving somebody.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: hanahaki disease and all that entails, blood</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fury held Kurochi in place as his brother fled from the room. He’d go after him, but he couldn’t let those words slide. Turning to the others, huddled in worry about Kaito, Kurochi’s mouth twisted in a bitter rage.</p><p>“Shuichi, you… you <em>asshole</em>!” Something in his chest twisted hard; he couldn’t take in a deep enough breath. “Y-you all… seriously believed all that?”</p><p>Kokichi was a liar… at least, until it suited their narrative to believe he was telling the truth. But Kurochi had seen the pain there, real, genuine pain. No one else seemed able or willing to.</p><p>“I expected more from the supposed ‘ultimate detective’. Some detective you are,” he spat out.</p><p>As soon as the words tore roughly from his throat, he started coughing. He held his hands to his mouth, waiting for it to pass so that he could properly breathe again. Unlike how the others flocked to Kaito in concern, no one shared any for Kurochi. Unsurprising, since he’d been protecting the one they considered Enemy Number One here, and they didn’t <em>see</em> any blood.</p><p>“Hey, knock it off, that’s–.” Kaito’s admonishment was cut off by another coughing fit. His hacking completely covered over Kurochi’s coughs, and he took that moment to make his own escape.</p><p>He didn’t want to spend another minute around these people anyway.</p><p>Once alone in the elevator, the coughing briefly subsided. He took in big, shaky breaths. He was a little light-headed from before, and leaned against the wall as the elevator went upward. Shuichi popped back into his head, and Kurochi clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails dug into his palms.</p><p>It wouldn’t hurt so bad if not for the sense of betrayal. He’d spent time with Shuichi, both alone and with his brother. Reading books over his shoulder, sharing a particularly challenging puzzle with him, making him laugh despite their situation and feeling his heart lighten just from the sound… and at some point he’d found that he’d developed feelings for him.</p><p>Of course he hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t the time for romance, and even then he was sure that his brother already had a crush on Shuichi. He didn’t want to get in the way of that–.</p><p>Not that it mattered. ‘You’ll always be alone’, he’d said, as if Kurochi hadn’t been right there. As if he’d <em>ever</em> abandon his brother–not even in Hell.</p><p>Kurochi began to cough again. He doubled over, hacking hard into his hand and trying desperately to catch a breath in between each spasm of his diaphragm. He couldn’t get enough–he couldn’t breathe. Black spots encroached on the edges of his vision; he felt like he was going to pass out.</p><p>When it finally stopped, he found himself kneeling on the floor of the elevator, the doors already opened. Blood covered his hand, along with a fistful of bloodied petals. He stared blankly at them, tear stains on his cheeks from crying during the coughing fit.</p><p>It wasn’t fair. Kokichi didn’t deserve the way everyone treated him. Kurochi didn’t deserve for his first love to be so gruesome and hopeless. At this rate, he was sure, it’d be his last as well.</p><p>He slowly pushed himself to his feet, wiping his hand on the wall of the elevator. If anyone noticed the blood, he doubted they’d connect it to him, and he’d only laugh if they thought anything significant of the flower petals that had dropped to the floor. Maybe the problem would go away on its own, and he’d stop having feelings for the person who blindly treated Kokichi so horrible. Anyway, he had more important things to worry about now.</p><p>Kurochi left the elevator, and went in search of his brother.</p>
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<a name="section0085"><h2>85. {Jadochi+Jaden/Miu} That's Polyamory Babey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: beauty and longevity</p><p>Love has a great number of forms. Kurochi never thought he’d be so fortunate as to experience so many of them.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something woke Kurochi in the middle of the night, though he couldn’t figure out what that was. He groaned softly, rubbing his eyes as further sleep eluded him. The arms wrapped around his waist, normally perfectly capable of dragging him back to sleep with their embrace, didn’t feel like enough.</p><p>He extricated himself from them carefully–the hand that had found its way onto his shoulder slipping off as he did so. Turning, he gazed over the two sleeping forms in the bed with him–one his best-friend-turned-boyfriend, and the other his current best friend.</p><p>Jaden’s arms lay still on the bed in the spot that Kurochi had just vacated. Miu gave an open-mouthed whine at the shifting on Kurochi’s end of the bed. Without waking, she pulled her hand from where it’d fallen off of Kurochi’s shoulder, and she adjusted her arms to squeeze around Jaden’s waist, chest pressed against his back and her face buried in his shoulder blades. A lump in the blankets suggested that she’d thrown a leg over one of his, effectively clinging to Jaden as much as she possibly could in her sleep.</p><p>Kurochi smiled, warmth flooding his chest. He loved them both dearly. Not in the same way of course–as far as attraction went, while he recognized Miu as an attractive woman in her own right, he found himself drawn exclusively to Jaden. But he felt great fondness for them both, and it made him overwhelmingly happy to have Jaden’s eyes on him, loving and treating him like his entire world, and then see those eyes shift to Miu with just as much affection and knowing first-hand exactly how those eyes would make her feel.</p><p>The occasional jealousy might arise in one or both him and Miu, but Jaden never made him feel lesser, and a simple word was all it took for Jaden to shower each of them with reassurances.</p><p>Looking down at them, he found that he didn’t want to leave the bed as much as he thought. Kurochi laid down again, and wormed his way back in between Jaden’s arms. They tightened automatically around him, drawing him in closer. He loved them, he loved them <em>so much</em> he couldn’t stand it.</p><p>As he managed to drift off once again, Miu’s hand found its way back up to his face, as if her subconscious needed to reassure her that he was still close by. The gesture made him smile faintly. Then, with Jaden’s arms around him and Miu’s fingers resting on his cheek, Kurochi fell back to sleep with a heart that was full to bursting.</p>
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<a name="section0086"><h2>86. {Shuochi} A pejorative is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative connotation or a low opinion of someone or something, showing a lack of respect for someone or something</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: united</p><p>It’s a mix of VR AU + Danganronpa is televised + they were forced into it, but since it’s VR and all most people don’t really take the psychological trauma seriously. Just roll with it.</p><p>Shuichi hasn’t answered his phone all day, so Kurochi goes to check on him in person</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: Kind of stalking, mentioned harassment</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ah! You’re home. I was worried that you were busy or that… something happened, since your phone was off.”</p><p>Shuichi stepped back to let Kurochi into the house, casting a nervous glance at the world outside his apartment. Down the stairs, on the streets, people passed by the complex without a glance in their direction. And yet he couldn’t pull his eyes away, staring hard with the paranoia of someone scared of finding something out there–specifically someone staring his way. Only when the door closed behind Kurochi did he manage to refocus his gaze on the other.</p><p>Kurochi’s eyebrows furrowed. Where Shuichi’s eyes had scanned the streets, his own had remained fixed on Shuichi’s face, and the worry that wrinkled his expression implied that he’d found plenty to fret about there. “Are you ok? What happened?”</p><p>There was little point in trying to hide it. His boyfriend was much more observant than that, and attempting to like would only be an insult to his rightful concern, which had already evidently driven Kurochi to leave his own place in order to check up on him in person.</p><p>“I don’t know how…” Shuichi was breathless with anxiety, throwing a quick look in the direction of his phone, sitting on the table where it’d been turned off all day. He moved to the couch to sit, hand running through his hair as his stress crept upward. “…somehow my number got leaked. I think. I’ve been getting calls… texts… voicemails all day now.”</p><p>“Oh. I’m sorry, Shuichi.” Kurochi sat next to him, resting a hand on his leg. The gentle pressure of his fingers helped chase back the rising tide of stress. Shuichi let his hand drop over the top of his hand, faintly clasping it. “You’re going to get a new number soon then, right? I don’t know how they got it, but…”</p><p>“Yeah. Soon. That’s not… all of it though.”</p><p>Kurochi gave him an inquisitive look, waiting for Shuichi to continue. He did so, but only after a long silence. It took time to build up the courage, to admit that he’d read some of those texts, listened to some of the voicemails… and that he feared some of them might be right about him.</p><p>“Before a ton of them started coming in, I… saw a view of the things… that <em>fans</em> sent me.” The word was spoken with disdain–to those who’d gone through the killing game personally, and knew that it wasn’t quite as faked as some viewers thought it was, the word ‘fan’ had become a pejorative. “About the things I did… how I treated Kokichi… <em>you</em>…”</p><p>His hand twitched and squeezed, his grasp no longer faint. Sympathy flooded Kurochi’s expression next to him and he averted his gaze, feeling that he didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry, Kurochi…”</p><p>Kurochi cupped his hand with his free one, leaning in until Shuichi could no longer avoid looking at him. His forehead wrinkled, his lips twisted in a frown, and Shuichi felt guilty just for placing that look on his face. “Shuichi…”</p><p>He carefully, but firmly, unclasped Shuichi’s hand from his, then turned his palm until he could thread their fingers together. “Shuichi, you’ve already apologized. You don’t <em>need</em> to apologize for that. It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t our fault, it was <em>them</em>. <em>They</em> put us there, made us play a sick game that none of us wanted to do. It was stressful. Those… those people telling you those things don’t know what it was like.”</p><p>As he spoke, he raised Shuichi’s hand to press his lips against his knuckles, a sweet gesture that expressed unwavering affection for his boyfriend, the very love reflected in his warm lilac eyes.</p><p>“You… me… my brother… and everyone else, we’re the only ones who can decide how we feel about what happened. And I wouldn’t be here if I hated you, or didn’t forgive you, you know?” A soft smile curled Kurochi’s lips; he gave Shuichi’s hand a squeeze. “I’m here for you, just like you’re always there for me, ok? And screw those dumb so-called ‘fans’ ok? They don’t know anything.”</p><p>While he words didn’t completely chase away Shuichi’s guilt, it faded to a more manageable level. It was enough that Shuichi could return his boyfriend’s smile, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Kurochi’s.</p><p>“I love you,” he murmured, closing his eyes.</p><p>He couldn’t see Kurochi’s face when he responded, but he didn’t need a visual in order to hear the honesty in his voice when he said, “I love you, too.”</p>
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<a name="section0087"><h2>87. {Kairochi} Did you know that writing with a headache is hard? Like super hard, watch out for that caffeine dependency, kids, it’ll get ya</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: impatience</p><p>Winged AU because yeah. Kurochi wants to try flying, even if that might not be the greatest idea he’s had.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, are you <em>sure</em>?” Kaito squeezed his hands, just before he let his fingers slip away. “You should take it slow, don’t push yourself.”</p><p>That almost made Kurochi laugh. Almost. It was uncharacteristic for Kaito to not encourage someone to push themselves to their limits, but one glance at his wrinkled forehead told him that it was better if he didn’t point that out. In any case, it was a completely different situation. Until the last couple months, Kurochi wings hadn’t even been strong enough to glide, let alone lift him into the air. It’d taken a long time to work up the strength. Pushing too hard would only harm his wings more than they’d help.</p><p>Now however, he should be able to fly. In theory. While his anxiety still kept him grounded, he was determined to make at least one good attempt at it. So he’d found a nice solid surface to jump off of, a rather tall chair, with Kaito beside him to support him.</p><p>“I can do this,” Kurochi said, with an unconvincing smile. In truth, his legs trembled underneath his weight, his spread wings tense. He looked towards the sky, both his eventual goal and so that Kaito couldn’t see the uncertainty in his face. “You better catch me if I fall, or else.”</p><p>“Of course I will! You can count on me!” Kaito said, patting his calf to reassure him.</p><p>Right. Kurochi flapped his wings a couple times, experimenting before the big attempt. Although the fear stirred up as a thick lump in his throat, he knew that Kaito would be right there for him if something went wrong. And so, holding his breath, he made the leap, flapping hard as he did so.</p><p>His feet hung in the air beneath him, and he climbed an inch, then two. And then, suddenly, mind-numbing terror washed over him. A phantom hand grabbed one of his wings in a dizzying sensation that shot straight to his head. Before it registered in his mind, he’d locked up, and dropped from the air.</p><p>The fall ended short. With a shout, Kaito threw open his arms and caught Kurochi.</p><p>He didn’t realized he’d started hyperventilated until Kaito was petting the back of his head, murmuring, “Hey, it’s ok. It’s ok, I got you…”, repeating it as Kurochi turned into his chest and clung to the front of his shirt.</p><p>He could feel the grip, just like it existed. Touching him, tugging at his feathers, pulling, <em>grabbing</em>–</p><p>“Kurochi! Hey, <em>hey–ouch</em>!”</p><p>Kaito’s cry of pain made him stop cold. Kurochi had started struggling, wings thrashing and trying to get away from the protective circle of Kaito’s arms. In the process he had unintentionally whacked Kaito with them.</p><p>“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispered. A guilty tremor ran through his body. While his head still buzzed from what had just happened, his concern for hurting Kaito had overridden his panic.</p><p>Kaito hugged him tightly, crushing Kurochi against his chest. A good kind of crush, one which held him close and promised love and protection and grounding. And he could get away from it if he needed to as well, he knew from experience. Kaito would let him go, as long as it didn’t look as if he was going to hurt himself.</p><p>Kurochi pressed the side of his face against his chest.</p><p>“You don’t need to apologize,” Kaito said, his voice a rumble against Kurochi’s ear. “Like I said, take it slow ok? You don’t need to fly right away, right? You’ll get there.”</p><p>He rubbed Kurochi’s back, massaging soothing circles into the space between his wings. The firm ministrations slowly unknotted the tension from the area, until he could fully relax into Kaito’s embrace.</p><p>“I know, I just…” Kurochi trailed off into a frustrated huff. He didn’t know how to explain the great need to join his classmates in being able to fly too, and how defeating it felt to have his trauma hold him back.</p><p>“You’ll get there,” Kaito repeated. “And when you do, I’ll be right here with you. Got it?”</p><p>“Mm-hm…”</p><p>He wasn’t totally convinced. Even so, he let Kaito’s words wash over him. As he let Kaito hold and reassure him, he could hear the steady beat of his heart beneath his ear. Kaito continued speaking, but his words became a meaningless drone, albeit a nice one. It was comforting in its familiarity.</p><p>Slowly, he wound his arms around Kaito’s waist. He’d try again later. Not today of course, or even tomorrow, but maybe in a week. Two weeks, a month. It didn’t matter. It’d come. Even if he didn’t quite believe it himself, with Kaito’s persistence Kurochi knew that pretty much anything was possible.</p><p>If he didn’t believe in himself, at least he could believe in Kaito.</p>
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<a name="section0088"><h2>88. {Jadochi} I love you more. No, I love you more. No, no, I love–</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I love</p><p>Jaden and Kurochi wake up in bed together.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Some sexual undertones</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaden woke up first, gradually stirring from sleep to the sight of his beloved laying in bed next to him. Even without glasses, vision blurred, he could make out the messy tangle of his hair, and the slight part of Kurochi’s soft lips as he dreamed away into the morning. Love for him hit Jaden hard, the desire to touch and be close to Kurochi steadily building until it felt like his chest would burst from it.</p><p>Air escaped past his lips in a heavy sigh, as if that could vent some of the overwhelming urges he felt. He gave in only seconds later, reaching out to caress the sleeping boy’s face.</p><p>As his thumb traced over the delicate bone of his cheek, Jaden wondered at how long he’d known Kurochi. They’d met when they were only children. And yet it seemed that every day he still found something new to admire in him.</p><p>Kurochi mumbled something incoherent, shifting in his sleep. His eyes fluttered open, hazy purple eyes automatically finding his own gaze. They fell closed again, and Kurochi pressed his face into his hand. A smile tugged at Jaden’s lips. With only his touch to communicate, he continued to stroke the side of his boyfriend’s face, earning him the occasional pleased whine. Then he moved to brush the hair from Kurochi’s face, and froze.</p><p>There, on the pale hollow of his neck previously covered by hair, Jaden saw the unmistakable reddened mark left on Kurochi’s skin. His face heated up; he hadn’t thought that he’d been rough enough to leave a hickey there.</p><p>“Mm, Jay?” When he’d stopped stroking, Kurochi opened his eyes again. His mouth formed a little pout, lips curled down at the bottom one slightly protruding. It absolutely wasn’t fair how badly it made Jaden want to kiss the frown off of his lips.</p><p>Jaden withdrew his hands to answer. The words wouldn’t come, however, and after a minute of trying to find them he simply pointed to his own neck, indicating the spot where the hickey lay on Kurochi’s.</p><p>Puzzled, Kurochi touched the place on his neck. Then a flash of embarrassment crossed his face as he apparently remembered the previous night, and a brilliant red flush lit up his cheeks. “O-oh! Oh, right, I–. Oh.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Jaden told him, the only thing he managed to sign. He hadn’t meant to, but…</p><p>His eyes flickered back to the hickey, and heat stirred in his gut at the memory of the events that had left it there.</p><p>“No, don’t be, it’s not… I mean…” Kurochi averted his eyes, flustered. Once he’d managed to regain control enough to meet Jaden’s gaze again, he said, “I don’t… mind, really.”</p><p>Jaden tried to respond. In the end, he could only bring a hand to his face and feel how hot it’d gotten. Kurochi laughed, half nervous, half amused with Jaden’s reaction.</p><p>“I mean, the reminder is kinda nice. Remembering how you… touched me,” he said, voice dipping at the end, “and… how loved it made me feel.”</p><p>Jaden couldn’t help but kiss Kurochi then, or else he really might explode. Kurochi melted against him, a soft sigh following his lips when Jaden pulled away.</p><p>“I love you,” Jaden signed, a dreamy, affectionate sort of look filling his eyes.</p><p>Kurochi held his gaze without faltering–or maybe it was the gaze that held his there. His expression softened into a matching warmth.</p><p>“Yeah, I know.” Kurochi moved closer, bringing their bodies flush, and pressed an adoring kiss against his jaw. Jaden shivered at how close to his neck it was, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling in the slightest. On the contrary, he thought that at the rate they were going, they weren’t going to get out of bed any time in the near future.</p><p>“I love you too, Jay.”</p>
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<a name="section0089"><h2>89. {Ranrochi} When in doubt, kidnap your OC out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: I promise</p><p>Rantaro comes to save Kurochi after he’s kidnapped.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: Kidnapping, short injury descriptions</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>Rantaro</em>! You–. Y-you’re–.”</p><p>“Shh, <em>shh</em>, it’s ok. I’m getting you out of here, ok? Hold on.”</p><p>Rantaro disappeared from his field of vision. Kurochi bit his lower lip, suppressing the desperate sob that threatened to escape. It didn’t make sense to cry; Rantaro had only moved behind him to untie him. Sure enough, seconds later the bindings around his wrists loosened, and then fell away.</p><p>The cold air on his badly chafed wrists, deep red marks that had begun to break the skin from his struggling, relieved him just as much as it hurt. He choked on a whimper, slumping forward.</p><p>He sat in the chair for less than a minute following that. As soon as the rope had been untied, Rantaro tucked his arm underneath his knees and lifted. Kurochi sucked in a deep breath in shock and threw his arms around Rantaro’s neck.</p><p>“I got you, it’s alright,” he murmured into Kurochi’s ear.</p><p>Tears spilled down his cheeks, following the old dirty tear tracks that he’d cried several times over since his kidnapping. He buried his face in Rantaro’s shoulder, this time not suppressing his sob. Just five minutes ago, he’d thought he’d die in that room. He’d believed that he’d never see Rantaro, his friends, his family, ever again.</p><p>He tried to say as much, in between rapid, shallow breaths. “I thought–. I thought, I–. Y-you–. I was gonna… gonna…”</p><p>“Shh, deep breaths, ok? Slow….”</p><p>The rest was a blur. At first Rantaro carried him through the room he’d been trapped in, and then suddenly they were out beneath open sky. Stars glittered across the dark expanse, filling Kurochi’s eyes as he stared up at them. He hadn’t seen them in days–yet there he was. And Rantaro’s arms carried him effortlessly beneath them. He didn’t know how he’d found him, but he didn’t care either.</p><p>The only thing that mattered was that he was out now.</p><p>The sound of a car door opening made him flinch–but it was only Rantaro’s car, he realized seconds later. He set Kurochi inside in the back seat, each movement chosen with care.</p><p>“There you go,” he said as he began to draw away. “You can lay down back here, I’ll take you home, so…”</p><p>“Wait!” Kurochi fumbled, grasping the front of Rantaro’s shirt. “Please, just… just…” He tugged, although in his current state he had no hope of pulling Rantaro back in. “<em>Please</em>.”</p><p>Rantaro gave in without a fight. He crawled into the back seat, hovering over Kurochi for a moment before he settled into a comfortable position beside him. Kurochi threw himself back into his arms without hesitation, face buried in his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of the cologne he usually wore. It was faint, worn away by then, but still there.</p><p>Then Rantaro’s hand found the back of his head, stroking his hair. All at once everything came out–Kurochi bawled into his chest.</p><p>“I didn’t–. I thought I was gonna die! I w-was so scared.”</p><p>“I know, I got you now. No one’s gonna hurt you.”</p><p>“Thank you, thankyouthankyouiloveyou.”</p><p>The confession came out in a rush, an impulse of the moment that washed from his lips so naturally that Kurochi hardly realized he’d said it. He didn’t know even if Rantaro had heard it, jumbled in with all the other words he’d said. After a moment had passed, Rantaro’s grip on him tightened, and he hugged Kurochi tightly to his chest.</p><p>“Hey, no one’s gonna hurt you, got it? Not when I’m here. I promise.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0090"><h2>90. {No Ship Maki-centric} When you stare into the ceiling-abyss, the ceiling-abyss says it’s rude to stare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wanted to write a quick thing for demi-Maki because anon inspired me a bit. It’s not really explicit, and it’s a bit rushed, but you get the idea.</p><p>The premise behind it is that 1. Maki was an assassin for real, 2. VR AU is real, and 3. Maki’s friend hadn’t actually died and that was a lie.</p><p>I named her friend Eiko. They live together.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maki couldn’t get to sleep. She laid in bed long after the lights had gone out, staring up at the ceiling through the darkness. Scenes from the movie that they’d watched that day played restlessly through her head, the romantic scenes, the falling in love, how unreal it had all seemed. And at the end of it, she had turned to Eiko, ready to share her mockery with her friend–her best friend, even after all the years since they’d seen each other.</p><p>But Eiko had beaten her to it, turning to Maki with a dreamy smile on her lips.</p><p>“Isn’t it just so romantic?” she’d asked with a sigh that had Maki taken aback. “I wish that would happen to me–I just fall for so many people all the time, and they never seem to like me back.”</p><p>Maki had opened her mouth then, about to say that she couldn’t understand what Eiko was talking about. She’d only had feelings for two people in her entire life, and those people were Kaito and… the girl sitting next to her on the couch. She couldn’t relate to getting crushes on so many people, as Eiko claimed she did.</p><p>But Eiko looked so wistful that she found herself unable to speak.</p><p>“Right. Yeah, romantic.”</p><p>And she’d drawn her knees up to her chest and tried to distract herself from the thoughts that nipped at the edges of her mind.</p><p>Once in bed though, she could no longer run from those thoughts. They caught up to her, keeping her up well into the night. Part of her wanted to give up and go for a walk until she could run them out of her head, but she didn’t want to give up on sleep quite yet. Also, if she did that then Eiko would probably notice and ask what was wrong. Which Maki didn’t know what the answer would be. She was uneasy, and yet she wasn’t quite sure where that uneasiness stemmed from.</p><p>“Maki, are you awake?” Eiko surprised her by being the one to speak first, her voice carrying across the room that they shared.</p><p>She blinked in the darkness. Part of her thought about refusing to answer and pretending to be asleep. She didn’t know if she could handle a conversation with the strange emotions nagging at her.</p><p>In the end though, she knew she’d feel worse if she just ignored Eiko. After all, what if she was bothered by something herself?</p><p>How weird, that after so long of not feeling anything at all, not until Kaito had persistently broken down her walls first, she could so easily feel for Eiko. She rolled onto her side, gazing over at her best friend, and her heart wrenched as her eyes met Eiko’s. She swallowed dryly. “Yeah I’m awake, what is it?”</p><p>This was dangerous, she thought as her heart began to pick up the pace. The cult wasn’t done with her. She was still an assassin. Any day she could die, or be arrested, or taken out, or have the people dear to her taken hostage. Eiko wouldn’t deserve any of that.</p><p>Selfishly, Maki couldn’t help it, though.</p><p>“Is there something wrong?” Eiko asked, another surprise.</p><p>“Huh? Why do you say that?”</p><p>Eiko didn’t say anything right away. She seemed unsure herself on how to answer. “Well, it’s just… after the movie, I know you didn’t say anything, but you seemed kind of… strange I guess? I don’t know how to describe it, but I just want to know if there’s something bothering you.”</p><p>Now it was Maki’s turn not to know what to say. She flipped onto her back again, and stared upwards for a long time before she found the words.</p><p>“I don’t know if there’s… anything really wrong. I’m not sure. It’s just, after watching the movie, I thought that it was highly unrealistic how those two could fall in love so quickly.”</p><p>“It is unrealistic,” Eiko agreed, “but it’s kind of one of those things that has to happen quickly. They only have a couple hours to make the entire plot happen and everything. Usually it starts with you know, infatuation, then dating, then you fall in love for real…”</p><p>“But that’s not what I mean,” Maki interjected sharply. “I get that’s what happens but, how do you even start to like someone until you know like… everything about them. Or not everything, but… I feel like you’d have to be close friends with someone before any of that could happen, and they were never that.”</p><p>“Oh… well I’ve gotten a bunch of crushes on people without that, I know, so you don’t really need to be close friends with them.”</p><p>Maki was silent, letting Eiko’s words process for a good while. She didn’t quite understand that; she couldn’t see herself having feelings for anyone before they were incredibly close.</p><p>Then a sudden cold fear came over her. What if it was because of the assassin training? The torture that had left Maki numb, and thus ruined her ability to connect like any normal person would.</p><p>“I’ve never felt anything like that at all. Am I… broken then?”</p><p>She hadn’t meant to ask it out loud, but once the words came out it was too late to take them back. Maki tensed, unable to look at Eiko, unable to look anywhere but the ceiling above.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Eiko getting out of bed.</p><p>“Broken? No, no, of course not,” she said, crossing the room until she reached Maki’s bed. She rested a hand against her cheek, soft and warm. “You’re not messed up at all. Sometimes… people experience love differently. It’s ok. It doesn’t make you messed up because you don’t feel it exactly like the movie shows. Or even if you don’t feel it exactly like I do.”</p><p>Maki wasn’t sure that she believed those words. Even so, she didn’t want to pull away from the hand on her cheek, letting out a long sigh as she leaned into the touch.</p><p>“Right… if you say so, then…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you liked it drop a comment below</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0091"><h2>91. {Kairochi+Jadochi} The People-Who-Love-Kurochi Post</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two little drabbles I did for my daily words. The first is fake dating Kairochi AU (imagine that it’s also spy AU), and the second is Jadochi soulmate AU where Kurochi talks about when they first met.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: the second drabble has heavily implied sexual abuse discussed</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Kairochi fake dating au</strong>
</p><p>Kurochi had his back to him, peering out the window as the scenery slipped by them. His hair, as always, was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, with extra care put in to make it neat for the occasion. From behind, he looked younger than he was, although his pressed shirt and slacks fit him perfectly. Looking from his angle, Kaito worried if ‘romantic partners’ was the wrong relationship for the two of them to pose as. Maybe a more familial sort of bond…</p><p>“Oh, I see the building coming up now.” Kurochi turned to face Kaito, and simultaneously crushed that notion. His face was practically glowing, lips looking softer than they normally did in the dim lighting of the car. Intelligent eyes, ever observant, seemed to look straight through him, and Kaito had to resist the urge to squirm at the sensation that nothing he felt could be kept secret from that gaze.</p><p>Then Kurochi’s eyes turned away again, seemingly unaware, and Kaito let out a long breath. He didn’t know how he could get through an entire night pretending to be the boyfriend to someone he undoubtedly had genuine feelings for, especially knowing that Kurochi probably wouldn’t ever return them.</p><p>He parked. Kurochi was the first out of the car, already hopping out before Kaito had gathered himself enough to unbuckle his seatbelt. He waited there for Kaito to get out and round the car over to his side, then flashed him a shining grin that speared a lance straight through his heart.</p><p>Kurochi held out a hand, palm up. “Ready for the party, babe?”</p><p>Silently Kaito thanked the dark of the parking lot. It was all part of an act, he knew, but he still felt heat creeping up along his neck into his cheeks. He needed to get ahold of himself, or he wouldn’t survive the night.</p><p>Kaito took Kurochi’s hand, closing around his slender fingers. Everything about Kurochi was so warm, soft, delicate, and Kaito didn’t know how any person wouldn’t be enamored by him. It was only natural.</p><p>Then Kurochi brought him back out of his thoughts with an unconscious squeeze, and tugged Kaito into motion across the parking lot, towards the building where the party was to be held at. Kaito squeezed back automatically, trying not to think too much about his actual crush’s hand in his.</p><p>Either way, he might as well make the most of it while it lasted.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Jadochi soulmate au</strong>
</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispered, fear keeping him from speaking up.</p><p>Jaden shook his head, stroking his thumb along Kurochi’s cheekbone. He wanted to lean in and kiss away the distress from his expression, but he didn’t dare. Touch was a delicate balance, and Kurochi had only expressed a desire for Jaden’s hands on his cheeks, and he refused to give him any reason to distrust him.</p><p>Tears shimmered in his eyes, and he laid a shaking hand over one of Jaden’s. “I-I just… I was scared, you know? Some of those… some of them talked about how they’d show me how I would need to treat my soulmate, so that they wouldn’t leave me. Things that my soulmate would make me do too. And we escaped, and then I met you and… I’m sorry, Jay.”</p><p>As loathe as he was to remove his hands from Kurochi, he did so in order to sign. “It wasn’t your fault, it’s ok. I understand now, you don’t need to apologize.”</p><p>Kurochi scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “But y-you were probably so excited to meet your soul… soulmate, and then you met me a-and I just… ran away… I wouldn’t let… I wouldn’t let you even get close, and–.”</p><p>Gingerly, Jaden pulled Kurochi’s hands from his face before he ended up hurting himself. With his thumb, he encouraged Kurochi’s fingers to unfurl and, once they did, he pressed a kiss to his palm. When he released Kurochi’s hands to response, his soulmate’s arms dropped harmlessly to his sides. Good.</p><p>“We were both children back then, I didn’t even understand what having a soulmate really meant. It was just a cool thing to me, but it wasn’t the end of the world if you didn’t want to be mine, you know. I just remember being worried about you–I had no idea what made you react like that when you saw me, and I just wanted you to be ok,” he told Kurochi, maintaining eye contact as he did so. “I was always happy being your friend. If we never were romantically involved, then I’d still be happy as your friend.”</p><p>After he finished, Jaden brushed away the lingering tears from Kurochi’s eyes.</p><p>“Jaden…”</p><p>“Is it ok if I kiss you?”</p><p>Kurochi nodded, and Jaden cupped his face between his hands, before he cautiously and tenderly pressed his lips to his soulmate’s.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0092"><h2>92. {Saioumota} The author enjoys her set up too much</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: saioumota hurt/comfort for Kokichi, after breaking down in guilt (vrau) and getting comfort from his bfs.</p><p>Team Danganronpa tries to milk everything out of V3 that they can get, to the detriment of certain participants unwillingly subjected to their greed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Welcome to Danganronpa V3: Untold, brand new stories featuring the characters you all know and love,” the woman chimed on screen as images from the past killing game flashed behind her.</p><p>Kaito and Shuichi tensed and shared an apprehensive look. The woman continued on, oblivious to the disgust in two viewers in particular, brushing back the bushy red hair that would usually lend to her bright and bubbly tv persona. To them however, she looked obnoxious.</p><p>“If you thought you knew the whole story, you’re wrong. Stay tuned to see the chapters in angles you’ve never seen–follow the killer as they fight with their morality just before deciding on murder, watch the unsuspecting victim in their very last moments, see the characters interact in ways never shown on TV. This is Danganronpa V3: Untold!”</p><p>“Fuck this.” Kaito stood, stomping over to the television to shut it off. “What the fuck, going on like we’re just characters or something–we’re people god dammit, not their toys!”</p><p>Shuichi sunk back into the couch, sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to watch the screen any longer, but he couldn’t turn his eyes away. “Right,” he said faintly.</p><p>The scene changed; Kaito’s hand froze in place. A flurry of snow obscured the camera, the cartoony style a sharp contrast with how life actually looked. Although over a year passed since the game ended, both boys recognized it immediately–the virtual world.</p><p>Or rather, the virtual world inside another virtual world.</p><p>Shuichi’s shaky exhale left icy shards lodged in his chest. “This is…”</p><p>“Shit, is Kokichi still in our room?” Kaito spun on his heel, face twisted in panic.</p><p>No need to explain. Shuichi could only nod mutely, already on his feet before they took off for their room. Kaito vaulted the couch before Shuichi could round it. He kept at Kaito’s heels, the events in the virtual world looping in his mind. Hopefully Kokichi hadn’t decided to spend his time watching something on the laptop; hopefully he hadn’t come across the public broadcast of his deep-seeded guilt.</p><p>Something crashed in their room. Kaito halted abruptly at the sound, and Shuichi slammed into his back. They fell forward before Kaito caught them both on the wall next to their door. Shuichi swallowed a pained shout, having bit his tongue in the impact. Kaito pushed them upright, hand on Shuichi’s shoulder to steady him. His eyes swept over Shuichi’s face.</p><p>“You alright, Shuu?” he asked, not too distracted to miss Shuichi’s strangled cry.</p><p>Shuichi nodded. Although his tongue stung and he tasted iron, Kokichi’s wellbeing worried him too much to feel much pain at all. “I’m fine.”</p><p>He pushed past Kaito, knocking softly on the door before he pushed it open. “Kokichi…? Are you— oh!”</p><p>Kokichi stood directly beside the bed, face shadowed and shoulders heaving. His laptop—the one Shuichi and Kaito bought him as a late birthday gift after Kokichi neglected to tell them that it’d already happened a month prior—lay on the ground, snapped in half and several keys scattered on the floor around it. Although dark now, Shuichi could guess what might’ve been on the cracked screen.</p><p>“Kichi?” Kaito peered into the room over Shuichi’s shoulder. “What happened, you ok in here?”</p><p>Kaito’s voice snapped Kokichi back into the present. He jolted in place, pale face overpowered by wide frightened eyes that stared blankly at them. Thirty seconds passed without recognition, then all at once his expression morphed into something else.</p><p>Kokichi grinned widely at them, and laughed.</p><p>“Wow, this laptop was acting like such a piece of crap, I guess I lost control of myself and knocked it down!” he chirped, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He tucked his hands behind his head, but not fast enough to hide the trembling in his fingers from Shuichi. “Sowee, I know you guys spent bunches on it. I’ll get one of my contacts to replace it though, don’t wor—<em>oof</em>!”</p><p>Kaito didn’t let Kokichi finish speaking, throwing his arms around him and crushing him to his chest. Kokichi dropped his arms to his side, making no attempt to free himself from the embrace. When he next spoke, he kept his face hidden away, words muffled into Kaito’s shirt.</p><p>“G-geez, you’re so… sensitive about the dumb laptop, aren’t you, Kaito?”</p><p>“Just shut up for once. Stop.” Kaito squeezed. “Come on Kichi.”</p><p>And he did, surprisingly. Instead of more lies and excuses coming forth, Kokichi fell silent, leaning into the hug. Shuichi stepped closer. Kaito rubbed Kokichi’s back, and so he stroked the back of his head, threading his fingers through Kokichi’s hair. It still had knots in it—Kokichi hadn’t even made it out of bed yet—so Shuichi took care to not accidentally pull them.</p><p>Kokichi sniffed, voice wobbling. “Why do you guys care anyway, dum—dummies? I killed them. Don’t you remember? I<em> killed</em> them. You both should hate me…”</p><p>Silence followed. Then, in a quiet, tiny voice, “I hate me.”</p><p>If they hadn’t been so close, then Shuichi didn’t think that either would’ve caught it.</p><p>He cupped the side of Kokichi’s head, leaning until his forehead rested against his skill. His other hand slipped in between Kaito and Kokichi’s bodies, snaking around to hug Kokichi as well.</p><p>“You’re a victim of the killing game too,” Shuichi murmured into Kokichi’s ear. “I love you—<em>we</em> love you so much, Kokichi.”</p><p>“But—but…”</p><p>Kokichi didn’t manage to get out his protest, a sob wrenching from his chest instead. He broke down into tears, throwing his arms around both of his boyfriends. And they both held him, stroking and massaging and whispering reassurances as he cried into Kaito’s chest.</p><p>As his crying at last tapered off, he whispered, “I’m sorry about the laptop, didn’t mean to break it.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Kaito told him, “just remember we love you, ok?”</p><p>“Ok… I love you guys, too.” Kokichi sniffed again. “You’re the best boyfriends a guy can ask for, thank you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0093"><h2>93. {Platonic Kaede+Kokichi/Background Oumota} Sometimes a ship can also be a lowkey excuse to write a broship between one part of the ship and a totally separate character</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Some more related to my <a href="#section0081">last ‘fake dating’ oumota fic</a> (Kaede pretending to date Kokichi so that he can more safely see Kaito in secret). Kaede attends a boring rich person party with Kokichi.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: implied homophobia, implied abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, stop squeezing my hand so tight,” Kaede hissed under her breath.</p><p>“I’m not squeezing at all, so it must be your imagination,” Kokichi retorted, flashing her an unconvincing grin</p><p>Kaede rolled her eyes and adjusted their hands so that their fingers threaded together. Lucky for Kokichi, Kaede genuinely cared about him, and didn’t mind holding his hand through the night. Even if it felt as if he was subconsciously trying to break hers. “Yeah of course you’re not, that’s why I can’t feel anything from the current lack of circulation going through it.”</p><p>“Sounds like something you should get checked out! Have you thought about going to a doctor for that?” He chirped back a response without missing a beat, despite the way his eyes darted anxiously around the main floor.</p><p>“Love you too,” she sighed.</p><p>Her eyes wandered the party alongside his. ‘Party’ was a rather loose term, she mused, considering the stuffy atmosphere that came with a room full of old rich folks talking about the most boring stuff imaginable. If not for Kokichi’s jumpiness as he stood next to her, gripping her hand like some kind of lifeline, she would likely zone out until she had the chance to go home. Unfortunately, as Kokichi’s 'girlfriend’ (a front to hide who he actually dated behind his horrible father’s back), she had to put in at least a little more of an effort to get through this party.</p><p>She didn’t see Kokichi’s father anywhere, though, which worried her more than the playacting they had to do in front of all these strangers (they were too easy to fool, sighing about shy young love when all Kaede did was stand next to Kokichi). An evil in view was much better to deal with than one unseen.</p><p>“Hey, let’s move somewhere more private for a sec,” she said. These words she didn’t bother keeping too quiet. For anyone who happened to eavesdrop, it’d only benefit their cause for them to hear, and let them make their own assumptions about what the two intended to do once out of view. Kaede personally just wanted to calm Kokichi down enough so that he’d let go of her hand.</p><p>Her fingers desperately needed a break, and so did Kokichi judging by his frightened-rabbit expression.</p><p>She took him from the main room, down the hall until she found an unoccupied place. She tugged him in and shut the door behind them both, and immediately the constant din of the party cut off substantially by the new barrier placed between it and them. A relieved sigh filtered past her lips. The silence was music to her ears. And the gradual way Kokichi released her hand was music to her poor fingertips. Kaede might still play piano following the party after all.</p><p>He didn’t speak, so Kaede took the initiative in making conversation, making her way over to a bench to take her weight off her uncomfortable shoes. “Ah, finally. I thought we’d have to stand there all night–so boring! I don’t know how rich people hang out at places like this so much.”</p><p>“Nee-heehee, money makes you a totally boring person actually.” While Kokichi’s giggle was fake, he seemed significantly recovered already, assuring Kaede that she’d made the right choice. He tucked his hands behind his head, affecting a casual stance. “Don’t you know that already? You should be playing for tons of rich people since you’re the ultimate pianist and all.”</p><p>She pouted. “No. I mean, I guess yeah I do play for lots of rich people, but mostly they act like such normal people that if they dressed up in old clothes I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. These people though… they definitely have that snobby rich-person stereotype down, huh?”</p><p>“Yep. All of the people that man associates with are like that.”</p><p>“He doesn’t have any taste then.”</p><p>Kokichi glanced around the room quickly before answering. “Nope. He doesn’t.”</p><p>“Well, speaking of taste…” Kaede unclasped her bag, pulling her phone from it as she’d so desperately wanted to do all night, just to have something to occupy her time. She opened the camera and held it up. “Say cheese!”</p><p>His reaction was instantaneous–a huge grin overtook his face, eyes half-squinted and fingers held up in a 'V’ for the camera. She snapped the shot.</p><p>“Is that for Kaito?” Kokichi plopped himself down on the bench next to her, leaning over so he could peek at her phone screen. Kaede let him, not at all bothered since she was just texting his actual boyfriend anyway.</p><p>“Yep. You look so handsome all dressed up, I bet he’ll be drooling all over it.”</p><p>“Oh! Oh, let me text him! I want to say something!”</p><p>“No, text him yourself! Last time I let you text him on my phone, you–hey! Give it back!”</p>
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<a name="section0094"><h2>94. {No Ship Twins AU} Desertification is the process in which fertile land becomes desert–typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture, but massive impact worldwide from meteors might do it too</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: the twins see the secret of the outside world together</p><p>Kurochi accompanies his brother when Kokichi uses the keycard motive. What they see changes their realities forever.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Movement at his side woke Kurochi. He cracked his eyes open just in time to see his brother slip out of bed. Fully intent on going back to sleep, he closed his eyes with a soft groan. Kokichi would use the bathroom, he assumed, or something like that and then be back to bed within a few minutes. He sighed and snuggled further into his pillow.</p><p>But something wasn’t right. That feeling nagged at him, tugging him back into consciousness. His eyelids slid open again, and he noticed his brother pulling on his boots.</p><p>He frowned and sat up. “Kokichi, where’re you going?”</p><p>His brother jumped, startled by the sound of his voice. Despite his confident smile, the reaction ruined any attempt at subtlety. “Oh geez, Rochi, you scared the crap out of me, I thought you were asleep,” he said, his accompanying giggle unconvincing. “I just wanna look at the stars for a little, I can’t sleep, don’t worry about me!”</p><p>“You’re gonna use the keycard, right?”</p><p>The smile instantly dropped. If Kurochi were any other person, his brother would probably put up more of a fight, but they both knew the futility of that. “Yeah. I am.”</p><p>“Did you figure out where to use it?” Kurochi swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood.</p><p>“Nope! Not really.” Kokichi shrugged, slipping the grey keycard that he’d swiped from the others from his pocket. He held it up, as if to a light in the dark room. “But I have a hunch… and I’m a little worried about it. Because if it’s what I think it is… something feels wrong.”</p><p>“Why’s that?” Kurochi asked, frowning. He’d already got up to dress himself as well, fully intending to accompany his brother. Kokichi did, after all, have a killing motive in his hand. Kokichi didn’t protest, and merely continued to frown up at the card. A shadow darkened his expression.</p><p>“I think this will take us outside.”</p><p>Those words alone sent Kurochi’s head spinning, but Kokichi didn’t wait for him to gather up his scattered thoughts again. He left the room, turning on his heel and shoving the key back into his pocket as he went. Kurochi scrambled to catch up.</p><p>“First things first,” Kokichi muttered, “need to stop off at Miu’s room.”</p><p>Kurochi followed his brother over to the girls’ side of the dorms. “Why her room?”</p><p>Kokichi forced a grin. “You’ll see, Rochi~.”</p><p>He said that, but by the time they’d left Miu’s room he had zero answers and several more questions. For starters…</p><p>“What are these, Kokichi?”</p><p>Kurochi held the odd-looking pink hammer-shaped device up, utterly bewildered by their design and purpose. Kokichi idly swung his as they walked.</p><p>“They’re electrohammers. Geez, Rochi weren’t you paying attention to Miu?”</p><p>He rolled his eyes. Of course he had, their interaction had involved few explanations and lots of foul language, but none of that had surprised him. In the end of it, Miu had shoved what Kokichi had referred to as ‘electrohammers’ into their hands and slammed the door in their faces. “Yeah, I got that part. What are they supposed to do?”</p><p>“Already told you, you’ll see! Assuming Miu didn’t totally mess them up, they should actually be pretty cool! You’d be really into them, since you’re such a huge nerd and all,” he ended with a snicker.</p><p>Despite his brother’s clear attempts at lightening the mood, Kurochi couldn’t share in his amusement. Remembering Kokichi’s furrowed expression back in their room, he doubted the glee was genuine anyway. He didn’t respond, letting Kokichi’s giggle fade into mutual silence. They’d almost arrived, though descending the open manhole with the hammers proved tricky. With the memory of their last painful attempts still fresh, Kurochi assumed Miu’s device would help them succeed succeed.</p><p>Otherwise, he doubted Kokichi would be so eager to reenter the Death Road of Despair.</p><p>———————————————————</p><p>Inside the tunnel, Kurochi swung the electrohammer. The instant it made contact, the trap dropped like a lifeless sack of machine parts. The water below swallowed it up; it didn’t resurface. He stared down to where the trap had vanished, his jaw ajar in disbelief.</p><p>“Oh… wow.”</p><p>“I know right?” Kokichi beamed at Kurochi’s shocked expression. “Miu didn’t do half bad on this one, huh?”</p><p>“It just… instantly powers the traps off?”</p><p>“Yep! That’s right! I mean, not forever and ever. The battery runs out fast, and Miu said that using it on an exisal would empty the electrohammer’s battery, and then it’d take a day to charge, so…”</p><p>Kurochi stared at the hammer, and thought about the two remaining monokubs—and thus the two remaining exisals. Between the two of them, they could take out both, but what then? He shook the thought off, deciding it best to tackle it later and focus on the matter at hand. With these devices, getting through the death road would be a breeze.</p><p>He couldn’t contain a genuine smile; he wanted to play with the electrohammers some more, figure out their exact limits, see how much he could disable with them. “Ok, these things are super cool,” he admitted.</p><p>“Nee-heehee, I knew you’d like them, nerd,” Kokichi teased. He patted Kurochi on the back, urging him forward. “Now come onnn, let’s go, Rochi. I want to finish and get like a little sleep tonight.”</p><p>Kurochi playfully nudged back. “Yeah, fine fine, let’s go.”</p><p>He couldn’t stop fantasizing about playing around with the hammers tomorrow, though, even as they easily made their way through the death road that had before caused them so much misery. In almost no time they’d reached the end, a room with a huge door blocked by an electric barrier. And in front of it was a console with a keypad to input a password, and a place to insert the card that, he assumed, would disable the barrier and unlock it entirely.</p><p>“Isn’t all this kinda useless since we have the electrohammers?” Kurochi mused out loud.</p><p>“Guess so. Maybe there’s a shortcut somewhere we were supposed to take with this, but we just cheated anyway. Oh well~, here goes nothing then!” Kokichi shrugged and skipped forward and unceremoniously shoved the card into the slot. The electric barrier flickered, then shut off.</p><p>“Alright, that’s unlocked now then, so…” Kurochi stepped up to the door. Gripping the cold metal, he shoved until it began to creak.</p><p>The twins pushed together, until at least the heavy door swung open. Beyond it, a red wasteland of dust and ruined buildings greeted them.</p><p>Neither twin spoke, nor did they breathe as they stared in disbelief at the scene in front of them. Death, destruction… no, they couldn’t even call it death. There was no sign of life—previous or not–at all, as if they’d been plucked from Earth and dropped onto some long-abandoned planet. Because in front of them couldn’t be their world. Their home.</p><p>All gone in the blink of an eye.</p><p>Kurochi inhaled sharply, only to find that he couldn’t breathe at all. The air was thin, devoid of oxygen, and he coughed and sputtered in huge desperate breaths for anything, anything at all. Black spots encroached on the edges of his vision, his lungs burned–.</p><p>The huge door closed. Kurochi collapsed with a wheeze, chest heaving as he tried to regain the air he’d lost in that moment. Outside had no breathable air. At least, not enough for anything to survive.</p><p>That was it then? The secret of the outside world? There was just nothing out there, and their classmates had desperately killed each other over a great big load of nothing?! Kurochi couldn’t accept it. The unfairness, the cruelty…</p><p>He curled on the cold tile at the end of the Death Road of Despair, and sobbed into the floor until he choked on the dust. Despair… despair… everyone… their family, their friends, everyone was dead. There was nothing to aim for… no one to rescue them… no reason to live through this nightmare.</p><p>He wanted to die.</p><p>Not too far away, Kokichi had been the one to close the door, wheezing much like his brother was with just enough mental cognition to close it before they’d passed out and died. But what for? What was there to live for, except for a life with people they barely knew, without the family they’d earned in their suffering? He fell to his knees, yards away from Kurochi as he broke down in front of him, but Kurochi couldn’t bring himself to go to him. He merely stared, mind disconnected from his body.</p><p>It couldn’t be real…</p><p>This couldn’t be happening…</p><p>“Gone…” Kokichi said, but Kurochi barely heard him. “Everything… is gone, it’s all destroyed.”</p><p>Memories of the meteorites flashed through Kurochi’s head. A news report, claiming the coming end of the world. How long ago had that been? Nothing in the memories the flashback lights gave them had any comparative timeframe, so there was no way to tell. If everything had already been destroyed, then everything… everyone… all that the others murdered for, all that the survivors strove for… it was all already gone. Dead. Decimated beneath the apocalypse that none of them could remember.</p><p>He remembered their motive video: their family, beaten and imprisoned somewhere. They’d promised to get out, find them, save them. That didn’t matter now. Their family was dead, somewhere out there in that oxygenless world while they and their classmates struggled to survive in this death game.</p><p>“What’s the point?”</p><p>The sound of his own voice surprised him; Kurochi hadn’t meant to ask his question aloud. He curled his hands into fists, whitened knuckles digging into the floor. Head bowed, he couldn’t find the tears to cry. Right when he’d realized everything so far had been all for nothing, that there was nothing even more to live for, he found his eyes dry as the desert outside this prison school.</p><p>“You’re right…” Kokichi’s voice sounded distant, even though he’d dragged himself over to him. “That… Monokuma’s making us kill each other to get out—and there’s nothing even out there to go to.”</p><p>Kurochi stared down at the ground. He wished that it would open up and swallow him whole, just to end the heavy despair twisting in his chest. His body felt leaden—he couldn’t rise if he wanted to, which he didn’t. “What are we supposed to tell the others…?”</p><p>Kokichi didn’t respond for a long time. Or maybe it’d been only seconds, and it merely felt like an eternity. Then, slowly he stood. Kurochi’s eyes tracked his movement automatically, raising his face to stare blankly up into his brother’s wide, wide eyes. If it didn’t already feel like everything had ended since the moment they opened the door to their own pandora’s box, his expression would scare him a little.</p><p>“We don’t tell them anything,” Kokichi said, each word measured and deliberate. “They can’t know, it’d just ruin their lives. They’d see too, there’s nothing to live for anymore.”</p><p>He stretched his hands out to Kurochi and continued, “It’s better… if they die never knowing. That’d be kinder right? Right, Rochi? They don’t have to know, and since they’ll just want to die too if they find out anyway, then they just just die as happy as possible right? Thinking that there’s still something out there for them. <em>Right</em>?”</p><p>As he spoke, Kokichi picked up the pace, and his breathing grew harsh and labored, until he finished and panted heavily to catch his breath again. Tears gathered in those wide, wild eyes, desperately searching Kurochi’s for approval.</p><p>Kurochi stared, uncomprehending.</p><p>Kokichi wanted to kill the others—at least, that was what he implied when he said they should die not knowing. The secret of the outside world, it would devastate anyone. If anyone had even managed to get through the trial as the blackened, or the two people at the end who’d survive each murder, suffered so much, they’d open the door to find.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>He grasped his brother’s hands, and with them slowly got to his feet.</p><p>“You’re right.” Kurochi couldn’t bring his voice above a faint whisper. “Then what do we do?”</p><p>Kokichi squeezed his hands, a grip so tight that it felt like it’d crush the bones. Kurochi hardly registered the pain.</p><p>“One of us will be the blackened, the other will be the victim…”</p><p>Kurochi’s throat felt dry, but Kokichi hadn’t finished yet. Already the plan was unspeakably painful, impossible under any other circumstance, but he didn’t interrupt. Whatever part of him was repulsed by such a thing, the greater part of him didn’t object to it. He’d slipped so far, so quickly, and he mentally nodded along with what Kokichi laid out for the.</p><p>“…they’ll never even guess what happened.”</p>
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<a name="section0095"><h2>95. {Oumiu} Stop pulling all nighters to finish your stuff, sleep deprivation is a serious problem and society shouldn’t be proud of forcing young people to sacrifice a necessary bodily function because of toxic work culture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miu pulls a double-all-nighter, and Kokichi takes it upon himself to make sure she’s ok.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The knocking at her door went unnoticed for a good few minutes. Miu remained hunched over her desk, vision blurring but determined to finish her work quickly. A digital clock sat on the surface next to her, with an LCD screen that she’d made quick glances at through the night, watching the hours crawl by as she kept at it. Crumpled bits of paper—discarded designs—obscured it now, but the last time she checked it’d been around 2:15 in the morning.</p><p>“Miu!” A voice called directly into her ear.</p><p>She shrieked, jerking away from the noise so violently that she tumbled straight out of her chair to the floor. The impact rattled her brain against the sides of her skull and made her ears ring. Miu held the sides of her head, moaning pitifully until the room decided to stop spinning. Then finally, everything settled down, the tinnitus faded, and her vision focused just enough to recognize the person standing over her.</p><p>“Wh-what the hell you’re doing here you… virgin cucklord?” She pushed herself upright, but that small movement dizzied her. “Try—trying to sneak into my room to do… naughty things to me while I’m sleeping?”</p><p>Fuck it was so bright. Sunlight pouring in through her open blinds made her desk lamp obsolete. She didn’t know what time it was, but it definitely wasn’t two in the morning anymore. She closed her eyes against the headache building behind her eyeballs.</p><p>“You wish,” Kokichi chimed back. His response lacked the usual insults he’d launch back at her. She bit her lip. Maybe he’d gotten annoyed with her when she didn’t answer the door forced him to pick the lock to get in. Her heart dropped at the thought. “Usually normal people don’t sleep until three in the afternoon anyway.”</p><p>“Shit, it can’t be that late already, don’t fuck with me.” Miu flung herself to her feet, but stumbled and caught herself on her chair. It tipped back threateningly, but thankfully didn’t fall. She brushed away the discarded paper balls to reveal her clock.</p><p>3:32.</p><p>“Goddammit!” Agitated, she slammed her fists down on the desk. Pieces that she’d organized so carefully on the tabletop jumped and mixed; a couple screws fell to the carpeted floor. She threw herself down to search for them. “No, no, dammit dammit!”</p><p>Stupid fucking bitch, she scolded herself. Why had she done that?</p><p>“…Miu?” She jumped at Kokichi’s voice—she’d already forgotten that he was standing there. “Hey… are you ok?”</p><p>Shoulders hunched over, she turned away so that he couldn’t see her face. Her skin felt hot, flushing for displaying such shameful behavior. “I’m fine! Don’t worry about it, even a gorgeous babe like me has her off days!”</p><p>“You’re lying,” he said the moment those last words left her mouth. He knelt down beside her.</p><p>Then, without warning, he grabbed the sides of her face.</p><p>“Huh?! Wh-what—?” she began, but he cut her off by squishing her cheeks in with the heels of his hands, leaving her to sputter in confusion.</p><p>“You’ve got bags under your eyes.” He pulled her head closer to his. Her cheeks began to heat up again, for an entirely different reason from before, accompanied by the betraying flutter of her heart. “When did you last sleep?”</p><p>She averted her eyes. “N-not that long ago… I had a late nap.”</p><p>“Miu…”</p><p>The warning in his tone brought the sting of tears to her eyes. “O-ok, ok, fine! I don’t remember, ok? I’ve been working on this thing since… what fucking day is it now?”</p><p>“Thursday.”</p><p>Oh. Her stomach flopped. “Since Tuesday.”</p><p>He frowned. Releasing her face, he got to his feet, only to grab her hands to drag her up as well. They didn’t stop there; Kokichi steered her around until she all but fell against her bed. She dropped onto the mattress with a strangled yelp, blinking rapidly at Kokichi’s furrowed face hovering above her.</p><p>Something about it made the threatening tears spring forth.</p><p>“You need to sleep. You can wait until later to finish your thing.”</p><p>“I-it’s not just some thing!” She didn’t know why that set her off, but it did. Tears spilled down the sides of her face, and she was quick to wipe them away. Not quick enough though, with each pass of her hands fresh tears simply took their place. “I’m almost finished, I just need one more breakthrough and then I’ll have something that’ll really make you blow a load.”</p><p>Kokichi’s expression was unreadable, considering her with an unfathomable gaze. “Why’s that matter so much? You gotta take care of yourself first, you know.”</p><p>“Who fucking cares about that, I pull all-nighters all the time.” Miu turned her face away, although she knew it wouldn’t hide her from his eyes. “I-I just… want to make something that’ll really impress you.”</p><p>Because his praise made her heart sing. Because she wanted to listen to him value her and her abilities. Because she was afraid that if she didn’t pull off bigger and greater feats, then he’d get bored of her and discard her for something better. While she hadn’t said any of that out loud, it must have been obvious in her distraught face, because Kokichi took her face into his hands once again, turning it towards his with a gentle touch.</p><p>He didn’t squish her face this time. Instead, he ran his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. His expression was unusually soft, looking down at him with a warmth that managed to slow down her racing thoughts. Her breathing matched with his, and she stared transfixed up into his eyes.</p><p>“Miu, you know you’re amazing,” he said. “You don’t even need me to tell you that. You don’t need to try to impress me at all, I already think the things you do are amazing.”</p><p>“Hhhuh?” Her thoughts had completely stuttered to a stop.</p><p>“But you’re way more important than anything you ever do for me.” He quirked a playful smile. “And that’s saying something, you know, because I’m also very important.”</p><p>Miu snorted, leaning into his hands. “The hell you ar—mmph?”</p><p>Kokichi didn’t let her finish her derisive comment, bringing his mouth down to hers in a swift kiss. Sparks shot up from her lips up to her brain, making everything spin once again and filling her head with a pleasant static. When he pulled back, she whined involuntarily, squirming against the mattress and curling her toes.</p><p>He released her face and stepped back from the bed. “Alright! Now that’s done, if you’re a good girl and go to sleep, I’ll give you more of that when you wake up again. Got it?”</p><p>Cotton filled her mouth and got in the way of her response. She nodded quickly, struck mute from the abruptness of the kiss. Even so she… definitely wanted more… He giggled at her reaction and, with a wink and a warm “good”, he skipped out the door and left Miu alone in her room.</p><p>She pulled a pillow over her face to scream. F-fuck, how could she sleep now?</p>
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<a name="section0096"><h2>96. {Irumota} Disclaimer: use protection while screwing with the weather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miu, Kaito, a weather machine, and some snow. Heavily featuring Miu-brand Crude Language™.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="cont group">
  <p>“Pull the lever, Kronk!”</p>
  <p>“I—what?”</p>
  <p>“Psh, fucking uncultured…” Miu pulled her goggles down over her eyes. “Just fucking turn it on already. You know, like the girls that might fuck you if you didn’t blow your load whenever someone mentions space. Just hurry and do it already!”</p>
  <p>Kaito gaped, unable to form a response to the strange twists that conversations with Miu always took. He decided to take it as her way of complimenting him. She did, after all, come to him first when she needed help testing her latest invention—allegedly a machine that could change the weather. That had to count for something. Even though he only had to flip a switch, while Miu took cover a few feet away—.</p>
  <p>Wait a minute.</p>
  <p>“Hey, didn’t you say this is safe?”</p>
  <p>She looked at him as if he question had offended her. “Duh, of course it’s fucking safe. I’m the one who made it, didn’t I?”</p>
  <p>Unconvinced, Kaito began, “Then why’re you—?”</p>
  <p>“Just fucking jack that shit already!”</p>
  <p>He decided then that arguing wouldn’t end in his favor at that point. What was the worst that could happen, anyway? Other than his death. Yikes. He hoped that Miu’s talent didn’t fail him here. Shoving the thoughts from his mind, Kaito flicked the switch on.</p>
  <p>The machine hummed as it started up, bulbs lighting up along its sides. Then the high-pitched whine started. Kaito took a step back, just in case, but fortunately it didn’t blow up or otherwise begin sparking in warning. The canon-like fixture on top of the machine shot purple-colored powder straight into the air. He cringed, preparing for it to rain down on them.</p>
  <p>Nothing back down.</p>
  <p>He cautiously lifted his gaze to the sky. “What the hell was that?”</p>
  <p>“Shut up, just wait.” Miu came closer, but she craned her neck to look at the sky instead of him. He followed suit back up, to the sunny sky with sparse clouds marring the clear blue. Nothing seemed different yet, but he waited as she demanded.</p>
  <p>The change, though gradual to their eyes, came more rapidly than he’d ever seen weather change. Dark clouds rolled in, and the temperature in the area suddenly plummeted. He shivered at the abrupt cold, goosebumps raising along his arms underneath his shirt. Before he could voice any complaints, however, what happened next struck him silent in awe.</p>
  <p>Snow drifted down from the sky.</p>
  <p>He gaped. In disbelief, Kaito held out a hand to capture some of the flakes as they fell from the sky. Cold to the touch, they melted almost instantly the moment they touched his skin. He blinked.</p>
  <p>“Holy shit, is this real snow?”</p>
  <p>“Of course it is! You think the gorgeous girl genius Miu Iruma would settle for some shitty knock-off brand snow? No, this is the real fucking thing, baby!” Miu proclaimed, hands on her hips as she boasted. A light dusting of snow gathered up in her hair. “And my invention was a success, boo-fucking-yah!”</p>
  <p>“Wow, it’s really snowing! Miu—.” Kaito felt childish excitement build up within him, a buzzing that ran through his limbs and refused to be stilled. He couldn’t help himself. Overjoyed, he threw his arms around Miu, crushing against her as a delighted laugh ripped from his chest. “You’re <em>amazing</em>!”</p>
  <p>“H-h-hey I know I am but—<em>eep</em>!” Miu cut off with a squeak when Kaito lifted her clear off the ground, spinning her around. She could do little more than cling to him, until they came to a stop and he set her back onto her feet.</p>
  <p>Kaito released her—both of them breathless as they separated—and stepped back. He held out his arms, as if to catch as much snow as he possibly could on the sleeves of his clothes. He wanted to experience his first snow with the entirety of his being.</p>
  <p>“I hope it doesn’t take too long to cover the ground. There’s so much I want to do—oh! We should get the others, and we can have a snowball fight and everything. This’ll be the best day ever.” He turned his eyes, wide and shining, back onto Miu’s face. “All thanks to you, Miu. Thanks for letting me test your machine with you.”</p>
  <p>Miu’s face flushed; she dropped her gaze onto the ground. “D-don’t mention it. Thanks for being my test monkey… I guess.”</p>
  <p>Something about the way she demurred and blushed made Kaito want to bring her in for another round of hugs—later, he decided. For now, he wanted to savor the snow for however long it lasted.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0097"><h2>97. {Kairochi} A soft exchange at the end of the world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the world torn apart, there’s few people within Kaito’s power to save. It follows him into his sleep, until he’s woken by Kurochi.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Death followed him into his dreams. Images of decrepit buildings and bodies crushed beneath debris implant themselves on the back of his eyelids, among them a memory. Someone still alive, only barely, with no way to extract them from the mass of cement and metal collapsed on top of them. They’d reached out for help, reached out to him, but—.</p><p>Someone touched him. He jerked himself awake with a shout, eyes blown wide open and jolting upright in preparation to fend off danger. The bright light of the jeep disoriented him, but he caught sight of Kurochi flinching away from him, arms held up defensively. Kurochi’s hair was a disheveled mess, most of it escaping from the ponytail he always wore, skin sickly pale and dark bags beneath his eyelids.</p><p>Immediately, Kaito noted that Kurochi must’ve had just a difficult time sleeping as him. Guiltily, he thought that his own tossing and turning contributed to it.</p><p>“Sorry, I just—.” Kaito let out a shaky exhale, forcing himself to calm down. While he couldn’t slow his racing heart any, he at least didn’t want to scare off Kurochi any more than his forceful waking must have. “Bad dream is all, don’t worry about it.”</p><p>Doubt filled Kurochi’s expression. Gradually, his arms lowered and the tension left his shoulders. He scanned Kaito’s face, his frown deepening at whatever he found there—Kaito doubted he looked all that great at the moment, with his face sweaty and hair a mess from his restless sleep. Then he stretched his legs out in front of him, silently patting his lap.</p><p>Kaito only stared, uncomprehending.</p><p>A minute passed before frustration crossed Kurochi’s expression. He held a hand out to him, crooked his fingers, and spoke in a hesitant whisper, “Come here.”</p><p>He patted his lap again and Kaito swallowed.</p><p>“You sure?” he whispered back, though he leaned forward in anticipation. As much as the invitation enticed him—despite the strong-man act he always put on, he craved the physical comfort of someone familiar—he also knew how difficult touching could be for Kurochi. He didn’t want to make him feel obligated to set aside his boundaries just to console him.</p><p>Kurochi answered by leaning towards him as well, his outstretched fingers catching on Kaito’s cheek. He pressed his palm flat against his face, gaze trained on his. He nodded, putting subtle pressure against his face to urge him closer. His hand felt warm on his skin, a welcome change from the chill outside the jeep.</p><p>Kaito saw no reason to argue with that. He lowered himself down, finding some difficulty in finding a good position within the confines of the vehicle. While he couldn’t stretch his legs out sideways, if he curled up then he could comfortably lay his head down in Kurochi’s lap. As soon as he made contact, Kurochi’s briefly tensed underneath him. Before he could withdraw, however, his warm fingers rested on his cheekbone, tracing the curve of his face upward until they threaded through his damp hair.</p><p>He ran his thumb across Kaito’s temple, back and forth in an even rhythm. Kaito sighed softly, closing his eyes to focus on Kurochi’s gentle ministrations. Already the nightmare, both from his dream and from their reality, seemed so far away.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>Kurochi spoke first, surprising Kaito into opening his eyes. He didn’t know how to respond, remaining silent and hoping that he’d eventually elaborate. And he did, after another short silence.</p><p>“Thank you, for helping me… look for my brother. I couldn’t do this without you.” Kurochi’s fingers twitched, briefly pressing harder against him before forcing his hands to relax. “Without you… Y-you don’t know how much it means to me, letting me come with you, e-even though I’m… so…”</p><p>Kurochi trailed off. Kaito understood enough, the deep pain in that quiet voice from trauma that he didn’t know the extent of that made it difficult for him to even speak. He raised his hand to cover Kurochi’s, cupping his thin fingers without gripping them. He half-expected Kurochi to withdraw, but he didn’t even flinch.</p><p>“Hey, it’s your bro, I’m not going to leave you behind.” He squeezed gently. “I promise, we’ll find him and bring him back safe, no matter what. I’ll make sure of it.”</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurochi’s lips soften into a rare smile. Kaito didn’t think anything could satisfy him more in that moment. He wanted to protect it, and give Kurochi more reason to smile in this world that had gone so wrong. While so many people suffered as a result of the tragedy that he couldn’t do anything for, there was at least one person within his power to help. And that had to be enough.</p><p>“Yes…” Kurochi whispered, running his fingers through Kaito’s hair in a comforting motion. “I know you will.”</p>
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<a name="section0098"><h2>98. {Jadochi} A title for when you’re too tired to make one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I couldn’t sleep, so I wrote about Kurochi not being able to sleep either. And jadochi, because duh.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The hours dragged on by, leaving Kurochi exhausted as the time rolled past midnight. Then one, then two… and by three in the morning he felt that Jaden’s arms had become more prison than comfort. He needed to work out this itching energy keeping him awake.</p><p>Frustrated, he carefully extracted himself and sat up. His restless brain had won, at least for tonight.</p><p>Kurochi rubbed dried tears from the corners of his eyes, remnants of the war between his physical fatigue and his overactive mind. It made no sense to keep fighting it. Hours of lying in bed sleepless had brought him no closer to drifting off. He might as well do something with that extra energy.</p><p>With a glance to Jaden to make sure he didn’t wake him–and a pang of envy for the peace of his boyfriend’s sleeping face–he slid out of bed. He didn’t have to go far. On top of the dresser was one of his puzzles toys conveniently placed for night like this, a small gift that Jaden had randomly gotten him when he saw it at the store. The memory of receiving the reminder that Jaden had him in his mind made Kurochi smile.</p><p>He took it. If cuddling with Jaden couldn’t help him fall asleep now, perhaps Jaden would (retroactively) help him out in this way.</p><p>Toy in hand, Kurochi returned to bed. He didn’t move back into Jaden’s arms, although now he really wanted to. Instead he sat close by, hopefully with enough distance so his fidgeting wouldn’t disturb his boyfriend’s rest. His fingers traced the curves of the puzzle, sought out the connections that he could manipulate, and he allowed his mind to wander as he played with the toy. It went nowhere in particular, at first musing on the small thoughtful things Jaden had done for him from time to time, but eventually his thoughts turned to the job he was currently working on.</p><p>Kurochi frowned, fingers stilling. Maybe his time would be better spent on his laptop, he thought, rather than playing with this puzzle. A good chance to get some work done, even though his boyfriend had already pulled him away from work once that night. But surely he’d understand. Kurochi had tried to sleep; his brain simply wasn’t having it right now.</p><p>In that case, then…</p><p>Before Kurochi could move however, Jaden sighed out in his sleep. His hand raised, reached out mindlessly, then fell with Jaden’s arm now thrown across his lap. Kurochi nearly dropped the puzzle to cover his mouth as Jaden hugged him, with his face nuzzled against his thigh, and he very nearly laughed aloud. The timing was too perfect, and Jaden’s unconscious reach for him in bed too endearing, it was like his sleeping boyfriend had heard his thoughts and was insisting that Kurochi remain in bed with him.</p><p>He rested his hand on top of Jaden’s head, fingers sinking into the soft curls of his hair. The texture made him sigh contentedly. If the position allowed him, Kurochi would love nothing more than to bury his face right back into his boyfriend’s shoulder and allow his boyfriend’s familiar scent to lull him back to sleep.</p><p>“Ok you win, you cheater…” he whispered, with great fondness, “…even when you’re asleep…”</p><p>More than likely morning would find Kurochi half hanging from the bed, Jaden still hugging his waist. It’d happened at least once before, thanks to Kurochi’s nighttime restlessness. For now though, he simply discarded the puzzle toy to the side–where it would surely be remembered when it woke him up by jabbing into his spine–and contented himself to stroke Jaden’s head.</p>
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<a name="section0099"><h2>99. {Oumota+Jadochi} Double Dates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: jadochi &amp; oumota double date? (i know thats two wordsand two ships but..... please imagine the hijinks)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wow that was fun!” Kokichi burst out as they slipped through the exit, breathless and beaming. “Sooo worth the wait, even though Kaito tried attacked me in line.”</p><p>“Bullshit!” Kaito burst out as Kurochi snickered at them both. “You were gonna ditch both of us with Kurochi so that you could get on that first set. And all I did was grab you.”</p><p>“Hmm, was that it? Well, whatever, it was still fun.”</p><p>Kokichi stopped in his tracks.</p><p>“Oh! Look, I wanna go on that ride next!” he chimed throwing a challenging grin over his shoulder to Kaito. “Let’s go, I’ll race you!”</p><p>The moment he stopped talking he took off, leaving Kaito reeling as he tried to catch up to the sudden topic shift. He sputtered, realizing that Kokichi had already given himself a significant lead, and swallowed the bait whole.</p><p>“Hey, wait! Get back here!”</p><p>As Kaito chased after Kokichi, Kurochi and Jaden shared an amused look. Hanging out with them seemed to always end up with Kokichi playfully challenging Kaito in some way, and then Kaito taking that up with just as much gusto. Jaden shrugged, smiling, and offered his hand to Kurochi.</p><p>He took it, threading his fingers with Jaden’s, their palms pressed together. Even in the warmth of the sun, on the first of the last few days remaining of summer, his own hand felt cold, and he appreciated how warm and soft Jaden’s hands felt in comparison.</p><p>“Guess we should catch up to them before they ride without us right?” Kurochi smiled. Normally he’d be all too happy to join in the sprint, but strolling alongside his boyfriend was pleasant, and his heart still pounded just as much simply from holding his hand.</p><p>Jaden leaned in to kiss him–a brief touch of his lips to Kurochi’s forehead–and nodded when he pulled away again. Kurochi couldn’t stop smiling all the way to the queue, even when Kokichi complained that they were too slow once they’d joined him and Kaito.</p>
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<a name="section0100"><h2>100. {Oumiu} A desperate switch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: betrayal</p><p>Mermaid AU where a kiss switches a mermaid and human’s places, and the former human loses their memories.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>abuse mentions</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What do you mean you’re not coming out here anymore?!”</p><p>Kokichi didn’t have the energy to do much more than shrug. No pretending could pass off the limp he’d made his way down to the shore with, nor could it hide the bruises littered across his skin. Despite his long sleeves they still showed, like a badge of his failure imprinted onto his skin.</p><p>“Hey, what the fuck, you can’t just say that and clam the fuck up! Why won’t you just <em>talk</em> for once!” Miu lifted her upper body from the ocean, tangles of blond hair spilling down her back and sticking to her skin. She reached for him, grabbing his wrist.</p><p>He saw it coming, but didn’t react fast enough. As soon as her fingers closed around his wrist, her weight tugged him further into the ocean. He stumbled and cried out, splashing down painfully into the water. She gasped and yanked back, releasing him immediately.</p><p>Sobbing out from the pain, he barely managed to pull his head clear of the water. Salt stung his eyes, but he was already crying.</p><p>She stared at him with wide eyes that Kokichi couldn’t bring himself to look into.</p><p>“Was it that… that <em>monster</em>? Did he–?”</p><p>Kokichi clenched his fists. “Shut. <em>Up</em>!” he lashed out without meaning to. Everything hurt so much, his thoughts raced. She squeaked and flinched away from him. “It doesn’t matter! I… I deserved this…”</p><p>“No! No way! You know that’s not true!” Miu pulled herself closer, attempting to catch his eye. “Wh-why won’t you just let me… ki-kiss you?” Her cheeks flushed and she glanced away. “Then you w-won’t have to remember any of this. <em>He</em> wouldn’t be able to touch you.”</p><p>The temptation welled up in his chest, so powerful that he started shaking. To escape, to be free and pain-free, anything would be better than the abuse he suffered each day. But then his brother’s face flashed through his mind. If he disappeared, then would he be subject to that same pain.</p><p>He clenched his jaw. “I can’t do that.”</p><p>Miu’s shoulders shook with a sob, bowing her head. “Idiot. How am I supposed to let you go back there and just hurt yourself again! And then I won’t even get to see you anymore…”</p><p>Kokichi lifted his face at that. He didn’t know whether he intended to comfort or snap at her more. Before he could do any of that though, Miu moved first. She grasped his face, in a motion that left her weight completely on him. He couldn’t support them both in his state, and they both crashed back down into the water.</p><p>He knew immediately what she was trying to do. Despite the pain, he struggled, thrashing to try and get away from her. No, he couldn’t let her. If he did then his brother… their father would…</p><p>Miu forced her lips onto his.</p>
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<a name="section0101"><h2>101. {Platonic Twins AU} Cooking solo... sort of</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: technically familial and platonic ships are a thing so how bout the twins and their dad with the word "cooking"?</p><p>Kurochi does some cooking. His brother ‘helps’.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hmm, half a teaspoon of this…”</p><p>Kurochi murmured to himself as he scanned the recipe on his open laptop, where it sat perched perilously on the edge of the counter. His brother sat just as perilously beside it, shoveling a handful of chips into his mouth as he followed Kurochi’s gaze. He paid him little mind. As long as Kokichi didn’t try to–.</p><p>“Oh! You know what this recipe thing is missing?” he chimed out suddenly, breaking Kurochi’s train of thought.</p><p>He held the spice steady in his hand, just before tipping it into the measuring spoon. Suspicious eyes glanced up toward Kokichi. “…mm, like what?”</p><p>“Liiiike…” With a mischievous grin, Kokichi hopped down from the counter, bag rustling as he shoved his hand inside. He pulled out a fistful of chips and held it over the pot. “How about something crunchy!”</p><p>–yeah. Trying something like that.</p><p>“No! Don’t you dare!” Kurochi pushed his brother’s hand safely away from his cooking. Kokichi giggled, and didn’t put up much of a fight.</p><p>He did, however, throw his arms around Kurochi’s shoulders.</p><p>“Come ooooon, Rochi,” he whined, keeping up a playful tone, leaning his weight on him, “just a few chips would be fine, I swear.”</p><p>“If you put chips in this dish, so help me…”</p><p>After a brief bout of play wrestling, a still-laughing Kokichi returned to his perch on the counter, though his chip bag had fallen to the ground during the squabble, which he’d promptly thrown away. Kurochi made a face at him and went back to cooking, although a smile tugged at his lips in open display of his amusement. It was fun to mess around with his brother, even if he did have to immediately return his attention to cooking to not burn anything.</p><p>It’d be almost too boring without Kokichi there to ‘spice up’ the act of cooking a bit.</p><p>He finished and brought out the dish to Ranji, with his brother right at his heels. He handed it over, then waited with a wide, expectant gaze as their dad tasted what he made. The very moment his mouth closed around the first bite, surprise crossed Ranji’s expression.</p><p>“This is very good! You did a great job, Kurochi!”</p><p>Kurochi beamed, squirming under the praise. He’d never get used to it, the sheer joy he felt in doing a good job on food that he couldn’t taste.</p><p>One day, maybe he’d be able to do it without the assistance of a premade recipe–if he could only be so lucky. He hoped that Ranji would be willing to taste-test for him until them, and to praise him with each improvement he made.</p>
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<a name="section0102"><h2>102. {Kairochi} Ice cream musings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: How about some Kairochi with the word "ice cream." Bonus points if they're seriously pining for one another and not quite dating. Maybe double bonus points if drunk. Hueue</p><p>I mean Rochi can’t actually taste, but maybe he’s been drinking and maybe he just really enjoys sucking on something cold.</p><p>(And in that moment, Kaito becomes the very anime-boi that Rochi is complaining about.)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warning for sexual tension probably</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And you know… you know the <em>dumbest</em> thing about anime like that one?” Kurochi burst out, as the ending song faded into silence. He leaned heavily against Kaito’s side, wagging the popsicle in his hand like an extension of his index finger.</p><p>Kaito couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his mouth. When Kurochi started drinking, he always spoke more impulsively, acted more erratically, often resulting in some amusing situations. He looked forward to whatever stray thought had popped into his head. “What’s the dumbest thing about it?”</p><p>“It does this thing, like, they suck on the ice cream thing? And it’s sooo blatant and such a weird fan-service-y thing? You know?” Kurochi looked up at him with such a big frown that Kaito had to fight back a laugh at the face he made.</p><p>“Yeah, totally, I get you.”</p><p>Kaito actually had <em>no idea</em> what Kurochi was talking about, and his voice shook with suppressed laughter. It seemed to be enough for the other though, and Kurochi settled back down at his side as another episode started up, grumbling a bit before he occupied himself with his own popsicle.</p><p>Which turned out to be a problem. After Kurochi had mentioned it, now he couldn’t help but notice the way he sucked on the end, or how he licked along the side to catch a bit that dripped from melting. And it distracted him from the episode. A lot.</p><p>Dammit, Kurochi didn’t know <em>half</em> of how much he tortured Kaito.</p>
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<a name="section0103"><h2>103. {Shuochi} Mindscape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Just a thing based off a dream I had, where people had like “Mindscapes” that they could go into, customized to them, and they can share it with other people. It’s kinda an intimate thing, since it’s literally a look into their mind.</p><p>Also trauma can manifest in there. Obviously.</p><p>So I wrote a little shuochi, with Rochi sharing his mind place with Shuichi. Ending’s a little abrupt because I got bored and didn’t quite finish, but I want to play more with the idea later on.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi couldn’t raise his eyes to meet Shuichi’s, focused instead on their linked hands. He rubbed his thumbs across the back of his knuckles, delaying the very thing that he’d offered in the first place.</p><p>“You don’t have to do this, if you’re not ready,” Shuichi said. “Don’t force yourself.”</p><p>Heat shot into Kurochi’s cheeks; a surge of determination dragged his eyes upward. The moment his gaze found the concerned furrow of Shuichi’s brow, the intent way his eyes pierced straight through him, Kurochi lost some of his nerve. Still, he forged ahead with only the slightest stammer in his voice, “But I want to! I want to… show you…”</p><p>If he hesitated any further, though, he’d never get around to it.</p><p>He stilled his fidgeting hands, giving Shuichi’s a squeeze. Allowing a brief surge of courage to buoy him upward, onto his toes, closing his eyes as he pressed a soft, nervous kiss to Shuichi’s lips.</p><p>Something like static sparked where their mouths met, and when Kurochi opened his eyes again their surroundings had completely changed. The artificial light of the house had vanished, replaced instead with some dim natural lighting from a source that Kurochi couldn’t see. It was almost silent, with the quiet white noise of humming machines in the background that automatically set his heart at ease.</p><p>He glanced up to see Shuichi’s reaction, a little flutter of nerves in his chest. Fortunately, Shuichi’s face had taken on a hint of wonder, eyes scanning their immediately area with interest.</p><p>Kurochi sighed in relief, and leaned into Shuichi’s chest. He didn’t have to look around to know what Shuichi saw–they were in his own mind-space, after all. A mainly quiet, peaceful place, ciphers he’d seen through his life lining books that had plenty of blank pages for him to scribble his own work on it down. Physical puzzles, word puzzles, things that distracted him enough to calm down, though often the details were blurry in the same way that they’d appear in one of his dreams.</p><p>Even better to share this with Shuichi, and to have his arms gently enclosed around him.</p><p>“Is it like a maze?” Shuichi asked, presumably still looking around the area.</p><p>“Kind of. I’ve never been lost in it though, and it’s nice to just explore and find things around here.”</p><p>Even if in the real world the physics of the turns he took wouldn’t make sense, he always managed to find his way to a more comfortable area, with something fun to play with at the end of it. Gadgets, technology that he only imagined existed, and, of course, puzzle games. A place for him to play in, a place for him to work out difficult problems in a mainly safe space, cultivated through the years.</p><p>He pulled back, a playful smile on his lips now that he felt more at ease.</p><p>“Do you want to do some exploring? There’s so much more I want you to see.”</p><p>———-</p><p>Time passed in a weird way in the mind-space. Without clocks or the sun, there was no way to tell time. Wandering down the small corridors of the enclosed space, hand in hand with Shuichi except to shove one of the many tech-y toys into his hands instead, it felt as if hours had passed while in the real world it would’ve only taken an instant. Or maybe minutes; it was difficult to tell. He didn’t mind however long it took, as long as the two of them enjoyed themselves.</p><p>Until they rounded a corner, and found something that made Kurochi’s heart stop, and suddenly he felt faint.</p><p>A towering creature, at least seven feet tall, was locked behind the rusting bars of a cage. It was vaguely humanoid, aside from the slimy, featureless face, the barely formed sludgy body with little detail. When they moved into its line of sight, a raspy noise emitted from its throat and it leaned against the bars until they groaned beneath its weight.</p><p>Kurochi sucked in a breath, trembling. He drew back, grip on Shuichi’s hand tightening.</p><p>“Kurochi…? Is that–?”</p><p>“It’s nothing!” He didn’t mean to snap, but his head was spinning too fast to keep himself under control. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just… let’s just…”</p><p>Another raspy noise like a groan. It jammed its arm through the spaces in the bars. Each part that touched the bars left behind a smear of black goop, and it reached with elongated fingers, each tipped with smoldering embers, which he could practically feel the burn on his skin.</p><p>He couldn’t breathe. And when the bars snapped with the screech of metal-on-metal, and the creature suddenly lumbered forward, he jerked back with a scream.</p>
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<a name="section0104"><h2>104. {Oumaede} Staring from a vacuum, where the screams could never reach</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: For the promts... How about oumaede + orbit?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede pressed her palm to the cool surface of the window, a clear wall reaching from the roof of the station to the floor. Outside she watched the planet as they made their orbit around, harsh oranges obscured by dark grey clouds that she’d heard were composed of smog and smoke–fires were common on the wasteland, with whatever flammable material remaining easily catching beneath the sun thanks for the lack of protection from the atmosphere.</p><p>An inhospitable planet, closer than any others in the solar system. She’d never been, though. Like many others her age, she’d been born on that space station.</p><p>“Hey, Kaede?” Kokichi chirped, sitting on the floor next to her. Instead of looking out the window, he had his back leaned against the window, legs crossed and grabbing his ankles as he idly rocked in place. “Have you ever thought about going to Earth? Checking things out?”</p><p>“No? Of course not, what would be the point of that?” Kaede frowned. “There’s nothing down there. Just a bunch of… garbage and desert. We can go anywhere to see that.”</p><p>“Aw you can’t lie to me, I can see right through you!” Kokichi grinned up at her when she gave him a stern glance.</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em> lying,” she huffed.”</p><p>“Sure you’re not. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see it, you know. It’s the place where humans were born, after all! I’d be interested too!”</p><p>Kaede sighed. In truth, she <em>was</em> interested, but she didn’t want to admit it. “It wouldn’t matter if I did anyway. We can just see pictures that the robots took when they went down there.”</p><p>She couldn’t go anyway, not with how dangerous it supposedly still was. And even if she could, she knew that she’d end up disappointed. It was better to remain on the station, with the real images and her fantastical imaginings of a world that might be, something almost completely unknown to her.</p><p>“I heard there’s actually humans still living there today!”</p><p>“What?” Kaede blinked, then pouted. “Stop lying, no there’s not.”</p><p>“I’m not lying, I proooomise!” Kokichi said, in a voice that didn’t convince her of its truth. “There’s totally people down there, they just live underground now! In bunker-kinda things, like huge underground cities. With animals they saved and food they grow and the people they decided should survive the apocalypse with them.”</p><p>Kaede mulled over what he said, returning her gaze to the dead planet before them.</p><p>Kokichi continued, “I think it’d be worth going, to see if it’s true.”</p><p>“Maybe…” Kaede pulled away from the window, linking her hands behind her back. “But I think I like it here better. The stars are way prettier than a bunch of rocks.”</p><p>“Yep!” Kokichi agreed brightly, and she could see him looking at her from the corner of her eye. “The view’s way better from here.”</p>
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<a name="section0105"><h2>105. {Saioumota} The mystery of the ever-disappearing marshmallows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: saioumota + marshmallow? :0</p><p>Shuichi wonders where all the marshmallows have gone, and he's down to two possible culprits.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“…what happened to all the marshmallows?”</p><p>Kokichi snickered, perched on the counter as Shuichi searched through the cupboard. Shuichi had originally been looking for a snack, but he’d stopped once he’d noticed the absence of two bags of jumbo-jet marshmallows, with no memory of any of them using them.</p><p>“I bet Kaito ate them all,” he said with a wide grin.</p><p>“Shut up, I did not!”</p><p>Kaito’s denial was immediate and expected, a natural reaction to Kokichi’s frequent accusations that whatever happened, Kaito must have done it somehow. Even if he wasn’t present to have done so.</p><p>“You probably don’t remember because you were sleepwalking! I remember, I was sitting <em>riiiight</em> here, and you just came in and started shoveling the marshmallows in your mouth like a monster! It was scary, I thought I was gonna be next.”</p><p>“You <em>will</em> be next if you don’t stop making things up.”</p><p>Shuichi wasn’t listening, though. Something about the denial had been just a bit <em>too</em> quick to sit right with him.</p><p>He cleared his throat until he got their attention. “Kaito,” he said, raising a hand to point at his head. “You’ve got marshmallow in your hair.”</p><p>That was a lie, of course, but the way Kaito’s eyes widened and his hands jumped to the top of his head was answer enough.</p><p>“Ah, I thought so.”</p><p>“Nee-heehee, Kaito’s <em>soo</em> dumb, getting tricked like that.”</p><p>“Hey! You’re the one who challenged me to that stupid contest! This is just as much your fault here!”</p><p>“It’s not my fault you’re just sooo easy,” Kokichi counted, giggling.</p><p>Shuichi sighed, but he couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips. He turned his face away before the other two could figure out that he was laughing at them–though more on the inside than anything, they’d pick up on it right away. There was never a dull moment here, was there?</p><p>“Guess we’re going to need more next time, huh?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0106"><h2>106. {Oumasai} Desperation for a little comfort</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: saiouma and comfort?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kokichi surprised him just outside the bathroom, wrapping his arms around his shoulders as he pressed his lips up hard against Shuichi’s. Before he could get his bearings, Kokichi leaned back, forcing him to stumble, and for their momentum to carry them through the door.</p><p>A short gasp left Kokichi as his back slammed against the stall. Shuichi caught himself with one hand against it, the kiss broken before their mouths could clash painfully from the movement. When he tried to pull back to check on the other, Kokichi pulled him right back in for another harsh kiss, surprising strength behind the smaller boy’s grip.</p><p>Under the roughness, however, Shuichi detected a hint of desperation–not the good kind that might spice up a makeout session, but something else. Something that he really shouldn’t ignore.</p><p>He pulled back again, and this time Kokichi let him go. His eyes swept over Kokichi as he leaned up against the side of the stall they’d crashed into. The others chest heaved with his breath, a hint of panic behind his wide, purple eyes.</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>Kokichi looked away.</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled. His fingers curled into the back of Shuichi’s shirt. “Can’t you just… go back to kissing me? Just… make me feel good, <em>please</em>.”</p><p>Despite the breathiness behind Kokichi’s needy behavior, Shuichi could only shake his head. He relented only enough to wrap an arm around his waist, the other at the back of Kokichi’s head. Gently, he urged Kokichi closer, to bury himself against his chest.</p><p>“You don’t have to talk about it, but… I don’t want to do anything to you when you’re upset.”</p><p>Kokichi made a noise into his chest. He squeezed Shuichi tightly, each bit of his anxiety and insecurities poured into the embrace.</p><p>“…fine,” he said, though he didn’t sound too put out by the refusal. “Then… can you just hold me for a while.”</p><p>“Always, Kokichi.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0107"><h2>107. {Oumota} A meeting of happenstance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: the twins and despair? Im here for twin angst</p><p>TWEWY AU–Kokichi meets his lookalike, who’s been erasing Players and causing distrust between him and Kaito.</p><p>Also there’s lowkey oumota.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The battle ended, but even though he hadn’t taken much damage from the incredibly weak Noise summoned, Kokichi’s legs still couldn’t hold his weight any longer. He collapsed on the ground, supporting himself with one shaky arm as the other came up to his face.</p><p>“That was weirdly easy–huh? Kokichi? Hey!” Kaito had just come out of the field he fought in back to the regular UG. He knelt down by his partner’s side, hand on his back. “Come on, what’s the matter?”</p><p>His touch sent Kokichi into motion. He jerked back, slapping Kaito’s hand away with a vicious look, pain contorting his face into a frantic expression. “Don’t touch me! What the hell do you mean ‘what’s the matter’? Didn’t you see that Reaper?!”</p><p>It all made sense now, why so many of the Players they came across thought that Kokichi was a Reaper in disguise. One of the Reapers had <em>his</em> face.</p><p>“Yeah of course I did!” Kaito didn’t flinch back from Kokichi after he’d lashed out, insisting on getting closer to him. “You know it’s just a trick, right? They’re doing this to mess with us, obviously! You can’t let it get to you!”</p><p>Kokichi stared blankly at the other. He thought of the Reaper they fought, the twisted expression he’d had when he saw Kokichi and Kaito. When they’d started to question him, he’d summoned those Noise and retreated. Something wasn’t right, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was missing some important information.</p><p>Kaito had to be wrong, but he wouldn’t know why until they came across that Reaper again.</p><p>“You’re right,” he relented. For the time being, it wouldn’t help to argue. Even so, he slumped forward, tears pricking the corners of his eyes for some weird reason. “Sure… right…”</p><p>Kaito put his hand on his back again, and this time Kokichi didn’t slap it away.</p><p>“Hey, I’m sorry for doubting you. We’ll figure this out, ok? So just hang in there, just a couple days left. I’m treating you to a root beer float once we’re out of here, right?”</p><p>Kokichi forced himself to grin through his uncertainty, the battleground his heart had suddenly become. He knew he needed to find that Reaper again, somehow, but he couldn’t tell Kaito that. Kaito would just think he was crazy or something.</p><p>“Yep!” he said, injecting some of his usual playful cheer into his voice. “I’m not gonna let you forget about it either, so don’t go all nice on me now and expect me to let it go.”</p><p>Before the week was over, he had to meet that Reaper again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0108"><h2>108. {Oumasai} Meeting on the wrong side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: "I was never the hero that you wanted me to be."</p><p>Wrote a fragment of a superhero/supervillain AU, where Shuichi and Kokichi find themselves finally meeting again after a long time apart–but on opposite sides.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Kokichi! <em>Wait</em>!”</p><p>Shuichi lunged forward, grabbing the other’s wrist before he could slip away–out of the building and back out of his life. Although Kokichi twisted in his grasp, he didn’t let go. He didn’t blink, as if closing his eyes for just that half a second would result in him opening them to find that once again Kokichi had mysteriously vanished.</p><p>Now here, in the mansion that Shuichi had been hired to protect, he finally found his close friend from back in their school days. At least, he’d thought that they were friends. He never expecting to find himself keeping someplace safe from… not from <em>him</em>.</p><p>“Kokichi,” he said again, squeezing until the other finally stopped squirming and turned to look at him. Through their connected hands, he felt sorrow that wasn’t his own–a reminder of Kokichi’s ability–seep into him. “Why? Your power is… I don’t understand.”</p><p>Kokichi finally managed to yank his arm away, staggering back a few steps away, all the while maintaining eye contact with him.</p><p>He grinned unconvincingly.</p><p>“Oh, silly Shuichi, you don’t get it even now?” he said, his voice strained despite his attempts at keeping his typical light tone. “I was <em>never</em> the hero you wanted me to be. Not back then… and not now.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0109"><h2>109. {No Ship Twins AU} Contract</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: The Demon smirked. Soon he would have both, the other’s body and soul.</p><p>Part of a demon contract AU that I’ve been playing around with for Kurochi, a couple days (or maybe a week) before he gives in and agrees to the deal. Things don’t go as straight-forward as either he or the demon who coerced him expect it to.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Warnings: Sexual abuse (CSA, not explicitly stated, but heavily referenced), victim blaming, also referenced physical abuse</b>
</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>It’ll happen again</em>.</p><p>Kurochi pulled his knees up to his chest, pressing his hands hard over his ears. It did nothing to drown out the voice, its source directly in his head. It’d started recently, over the last couple of months, promising strength and protection for him and his brother in return for his soul. He’d ignored it, again and again. It was just his imagination, he assumed, just wishful thinking for something that could whisk him and Kokichi out of the horrible place their home had become.</p><p>In the last few days it’s grown stronger though; he couldn’t ignore it.</p><p>
  <em>Again… and again… Did you enjoy it that much, you don’t even want it to stop?</em>
</p><p>“No!” The objection tore from his lips before he could silence it, ringing out in the dark room in a near-deafening volume compared to the silence of before. Tears burned hot in his eyes–hurt even more by the accusation leveled at him.</p><p>Beside him, Kokichi stirred and whimpered, the slightest movements painful and liable to wake him from sleep. He trembled, cracking his eyes open.</p><p>“Rochi…? What happened, what’s wrong?”</p><p>Guilt lodged in his throat, threatening to choke him.</p><p>“Nothing, Kii-chi, I had a bad dream,” he lied.</p><p>Kokichi snaked his arms out from underneath the blanket, holding them out to him where he could clearly see the bruises and cuts that littered the skin down along his limbs. Pain that, once again, Kurochi had been able to do nothing about.</p><p>
  <em>You could, though. It’s your choice whether you actually want to help him or not.</em>
</p><p>Kurochi shuddered with a sob that broke forth.</p><p>“Come here,” Kokichi whispered to him, and Kurochi slid down so that he could lay beside his brother, and they wrapped their arms around each other. “It’s okay, Rochi, it’s okay.”</p><p>It wasn’t though. None of this had been alright for a long time.</p><p><em>You don’t deserve him</em>.</p><p>He didn’t.</p><p>
  <em>Is it so bad to make a deal to save him? You’re already living in hell anyway, you might as well do something for him, right? He doesn’t deserve this. Not like you do, standing aside all these years watching him get hurt. You can save him now, but you’re too selfish to make the deal, right?</em>
</p><p>The voice was right.</p><p>
  <em>It’ll keep happening. Let me help you both; it’s just a small price compared to your lives now, right?</em>
</p><p>…</p><p>Kurochi squeezed his eyes shut, barely holding back another sob that threatened to escape. He couldn’t take the guilt, not his own and not what the voice sowed into his mind each and every day. And even then, he still didn’t know what to do.</p><p>Selfish as he felt for thinking so, but he didn’t think he’d survive this environment for much longer.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0110"><h2>110. {No Ship Rantaro-centric} Little-big realizations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: family + discovery</p><p>Just a small drabble about Rantaro noticing his feelings differ from each of his sisters, and finding a word for it. (AroAce Rantaro)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A big family meant a dozen experiences differing from his own. Some he could attribute to seeing things differently as the oldest, or as the only son of the family. But once his sisters began to talk about crushes and dating, Rantaro found himself at a loss.</p><p>And when his thirteen year old sister brought home her boyfriend, excited for Rantaro to meet him, he found himself remarking to the older girls that she had to be too young to start dating yet.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“But I started dating even earlier than her.”</p><p>“Yeah, like it probably won’t last, but it’s not bad to start trying out dating a little bit.”</p><p>From the way the others reacted, Rantaro seemed to be the minority. Maybe, he thought, he was just overprotective over his sisters, yet it seemed unthinkable for someone so young to already start thinking of romance. He didn’t start thinking about it until…</p><p>…well, once he tried to remember, he realized that he’d <em>never</em> looked at anyone else in a romantic way before. Much of his time was spent learning about the cultures and languages of the places he wanted to visit, true, and he never really had a lot of time for romance with all he had going on. But something felt inherently different. Like the bustle in his life couldn’t quite describe the alienation he felt as his sisters chattered on about the people they dated and had crushes on before.</p><p>Later he looked up his thoughts, out of curiosity if it was something that others would relate to. And when he first found the term ‘aromantic’ and later the term ‘asexual’, he found them slot in perfectly with the feelings he had.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0111"><h2>111. {No Ship Twins AU} Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: ✎ Well since platonic is allowed, how about the entire D.I.C.E. fam with the word "party"? :D</p><p>Fiona gives the twins something to procrastinate with.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kokichi heaved a sigh, leaning his cheek against his fist as he stared blindly down at his assignment. Five minutes had passed and he’d read the same paragraph repeatedly without taking in a single word. He scratched a few doodles into the margins of his notebook. He didn’t mean to put off the homework itself, just give himself some time to work up the motivation for tackling this boring work.</p><p>After minutes more ticked by, that motivation remained just beyond his reach. He sighed again.</p><p>Someone knocked at the door. He shot upright, gaze eagerly lifting to the other side of the room. He’d welcome <em>any</em> interruption at this point. Even Kurochi, working at his own homework with marginally better focus before then, glanced up to see what was going on.</p><p>The door nudged open. A girl with hair pulled up into high, curled bunches poked her head in through the space, waving.</p><p>“Hey! How’s it going? You both done yet?”</p><p>Kokichi glanced down at his homework–decidedly <em>not</em> complete–and grinned, flipping the paper over in a casual movement. He sensed a more interesting activity to be had, considering the competitive spark in her eyes.</p><p>That only meant fun for him.</p><p>“Yep, totally! Just giving Rochi company until he finishes.” He pretended not to see the look Kurochi gave him. “Why, what’s up, Fiona?”</p><p>“No one else wants to play Mario Party with us, and I want to beat more people than just Glenn,” she said, sliding into the room with her hands linked behind her back. Her ponytails bobbed from the motion of her head tilting to the side. “So…? Wanna play?”</p><p>She didn’t need to ask him twice. Kokichi would’ve taken anything over trying to read that damn paragraph for the next hour. He hopped from his chair, grasping Kurochi’s hand with a small tug, urging his brother to his feet as well.</p><p>“Yes! C’mon, Rochi, let’s take a break, ok?” He grinned. “Fourth-place loser can do <em>all</em> the dishes by themselves tonight. Sound good?”</p><p>Fiona beamed, rocking back onto her heels. “Sure! It’s just not gonna be me, because I’m gonna beat all of you.”</p><p>“Mm-hm, sure, sure,” he said flippantly, smile widening when Kurochi finally hopped up from his chair. “Just don’t come crying to me when both me and Rochi leave you in the dust.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I really slacked on posting these, lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0112"><h2>112. {No Ship Twins AU} The Right Decision?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: the pencil thingy wth the twins and the word "circles?" ive been listening to the song and now I have feelings</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Rochi, do you think this is the right decision?”</p><p>Kurochi squeezed his brother’s hand. Kokichi rarely revealed his insecurities regarding the choices he’d made, long since having shouldered the burden of responsibility for all of them, alone as their leader. Even in the dark of the room–sun fallen, lights off, blanket drawn up to their chins–he saw the worried furrows etched into Kokichi’s forehead.</p><p>“Not many kids get a chance like this…” Kurochi said cautiously, feeling out for his brother’s reason, not committing to an answer until he found that out.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s why I…” Kokichi pressed his lips together. “But I can’t stop thinking… what if <em>that man</em> finds us, now that we’re gonna be in one place. And Japan, too…”</p><p>Kurochi’s stomach flipped at the reminder. The country they’d fled, the same country they’d returned to and decided to stay after getting those scouting letters from Hope’s Peak Academy.</p><p>“He won’t,” Kurochi said, with a confidence he didn’t feel. Even after so long, he could feel everything their father had put him through like it’d just happened yesterday. He shuddered, huddling closer to his brother. “He wouldn’t think… that we’d get into Hope’s Peak. Not all on our own.”</p><p>And especially not Kurochi. Their father had imprinted his inherent worthlessness into Kurochi’s mind.</p><p>“True… and we’re not exactly in the same area either, huh.”</p><p>He nodded. “And soon… just a couple years now and we’ll be adults. He can’t touch us then.”</p><p>“Yeah…”</p><p>They knew that was a lie, however. While he’d have much less legal control over the two of them, they knew how much power he could assert, with enormous amounts of wealth to back it up. But with the tools and resources they’d get at the school, maybe–and even the faintest maybe was worth chasing after–they could find the power to resist that man.</p><p>This could be the opportunity they needed–there was no other choice Kokichi could’ve made.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0113"><h2>113. {Sairuma} Revealing, but not in a sexy way</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: for sairuma (platonic or romantic) + secret?</p><p>Mermaid AU</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi had a few ideas for what Miu’s room might look like, when she’d grabbed his hand and dragged him through her front door and straight down the hall. And somehow, her room was all of them combined.</p><p>He first saw her bed, the kind he imagined a five year old girl might have in the peak of her princess phase. Tall and plush, with soft blankets and plump pillows partially obscured beneath numerous stuffed dolls. Most were clearly for decoration, but he spotted a few well-worn ones dotted among those. Complete with a frilly bed skirt and canopy fixed overhead, shimmery mesh curtains hanging around the head of the bed.</p><p>It was…</p><p>… well, ‘unique’ certainly was among the descriptors that he could use.</p><p>The bed seemed the least used part of the room. Much of her floor was covered in debris–papers and machine parts and things he couldn’t identify made their own obstacle course from door to bed, but her desk had the worst of it. So much was on it that Shuichi didn’t realize there <em>was</em> a desk there at all until he noticed the books piled haphazardly onto it. High-level textbooks and manuals mainly, with broken spines and worn edges. Miu clearly didn’t care much for the state of them, but he didn’t doubt she got plenty use out of them.</p><p>Then, just to the right of the door–so close that Shuichi didn’t know how he missed it at first–a large tank was pushed against the wall, with cloudy water swirling inside from a motor installed at one end. A… something. He couldn’t begin to guess the purpose of it.</p><p>“Hey!” Miu snapped him out from his stunned observations, circling around to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. “Don’t blow your load yet, I didn’t show you the most important part.”</p><p>“Oh, right.”</p><p>Her room had caught him so off guard that Shuichi forgot the entire reason she’d invited him inside. She’d told him that she had a secret to share with him–something which she wanted to tell <em>him</em> and no one else. He supposed it’d be weird if the state of her room was that thing–.</p><p>–although, to be quite fair, Shuichi wouldn’t be surprised if her room was the secret, considering what he’d seen of it.</p><p>He waited, expecting her to go on. However she didn’t say anything more right away. Hands raised to the collar of her shirt, playing with the edges as her demeanor turned nervous.</p><p>Finally, she snapped, “I need you to turn around. Don’t look at me.”</p><p>“Uh…” Shuichi felt apprehensive about obeying from her behavior, but nonetheless turned his back to her. “A-alright.”</p><p>Miu didn’t say anything more. He heard some shuffling behind him then, oddly, a small splash, and its pair shortly after. Shuichi’s apprehension deepened, thinking off the pool of water in her room, and he tried to reel in his anxious imagination before it could get too out of hand. Knowing Miu, stepping into that pool could literally mean anything.</p><p>He heard Miu suck in an audible breath, then sigh, “O-ok, you can–eep!”</p><p>She squeaked and, moments later, a louder splash followed. Alarmed, Shuichi spun around, afraid that she’d fallen and hit her head on the floor.</p><p>“Miu, are you–?”</p><p>And he stopped. And stared. He couldn’t think of anything to say, all words abandoning him in that moment.</p><p>What could one say even, when seeing a long length of tail that ended in fins draped over the side of a tank in place of their friend’s legs?</p><p>“Uh…? I…?” Shuichi spotted Miu’s skirt in a tidy pile by the side of the tank, then glanced back to the bright orange scales that ran the length of the tail, all the way up to her waist. They tapered off seamlessly into skin; there was no way it could be faked in such a short time, and yet what he saw was impossible. “Miu?”</p><p>Miu pulled herself up to the edge of the tank, tail slipping into the water with a solid splash. She grinned, hair dripping onto the floor at the side of the glass. The peach-colored fins protruding from beneath her hair flapped.</p><p>“You can feel lucky now,” she said, “I chose you as the only bitch-boy who gets to see me in my gorgeous true form. No one else can lay eyes on this.”</p><p>Shuichi needed to sit down. Without a chair nearby, just the bed on the other side of the room, he took his seat on the ground, lowering himself quicker than he was prepared to move. He nearly fell over, but managed to shakily draw himself up into a stable position.</p><p>“I… don’t know what to say,” he said truthfully, after a long dizzying moment of whirling thoughts.</p><p>“You can start with ‘I promise not to tell your secret to anyone, also thank you Gorgeous Girl Genius Miu for sharing this with me’.”</p><p>“Right…” Absently, he shook his head. “I won’t tell anyone. Thank you…? I think?”</p><p>This would have to be something he slept on, he thought. Suddenly he felt very, very exhausted. Of course he would. All in one breath, he’d not only found out that mermaids were real, but that his <em>friend</em> was one too. The logic centers in his brain were fried from working overtime.</p><p>“Well? What do you think?” Miu asked, her demanding tone covering up the current of uncertainty that carried her voice.</p><p>Shuichi blinked rapidly, trying to pull himself together to form a coherent response.</p><p>“It’s… amazing.” At the very core, it was that much at least. “I just need some time… to process is all.”</p><p>It was enough, it seemed. Miu brightened instantly.</p><p>“Good! And you better keep your promise, or you’ll be sorry.”</p><p>He couldn’t imagine what she’d do if he revealed it to anyone, but it didn’t matter. He had no intention of betraying her trust anyway. Not even with something as reality-shaking as this. <em>Especially</em> not with that.</p><p>“Of course, I will. Don’t… worry about it.”</p><p>Shuichi, on the other hand, had a lot to worry over before he could accept what she’d shown him. That’d be the reason for his lack of sleep tonight for sure, although he wasn’t new staying up. He just never spent the night struggling with a fantasy concept before.</p><p>Oh man…</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0114"><h2>114. {Saioumota} Tell your bros you love them as a prank</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: saioumota, pranks</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey Shuichi, you remember the prank Kokichi pulled yesterday.”</p><p>Shuichi glanced up from his phone. “I wouldn’t call it much of a prank, but… yes.”</p><p>It’d be a bit silly if he did forget, since it happened not that long ago. It came out of seemingly nowhere, Kokichi coming up to them with that huge grin, and by the time he’d left, Shuichi felt more puzzled than ever about the other boy’s behavior. He hadn’t stopped thinking about their exchange since then.</p><p>And apparently, Kaito hadn’t either.</p><p>Kaito didn’t continue right away, leaning back, tracing the fabric over the arm of the couch. Then, once he’d gathered his thoughts, “You think he was serious about that? About it being a prank?”</p><p>Shuichi paused for a beat. “No,” he said. Once he thought about it, it only made sense if Kokichi had been telling the truth before, then claimed it was a prank to cover it up.</p><p>“Right… I didn’t think so either, just wanted to see what you thought.”</p><p>Minutes passed after that without either of them speaking. They’d agreed on the conclusion, but neither was quite ready to expand on the implications that followed from it.</p><p>Shuichi surprised himself in speaking first, after clearing his throat. “So he… has actual feelings for us. Probably.”</p><p>Kaito’s finger tracing over the arm of the couch stopped. He frowned.</p><p>“I’m gonna call him.”</p><p>“Huh?” Shuichi jolted, but Kaito was already on his feet. “Now?”</p><p>“Yeah. No point in letting it sit; if he was being serious he’s probably sitting way embarrassed about it now. So I’ll call him and get to the bottom of this?”</p><p>Shuichi turned in his seat as Kaito walked around the couch, heading to the kitchen table where he’d left his phone beforehand. “Wait, what are you going to say to him? If it <em>was</em> serious…?”</p><p>He felt his face warm at the thought. Shuichi didn’t know what he <em>could </em>say. At least, not without taking some time to process his thoughts first.</p><p>“Don’t know yet.”</p><p>“<em>What</em>?”</p><p>“I’ll figure it out as I go along.”</p><p>“<em>Kaito</em>–!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0115"><h2>115. {Hoshimatsu} In the shade, hot summer day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: sun</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryoma pulled her into a soft kiss that made her giggle. The hot day had infected her with a loose, playful mood, and she was glad for the tree that cast a cool shadow over their bench. Otherwise Kaede might’ve made a big fool of herself.</p><p>Her eyes fluttered open when Ryoma pulled away, a contented smile left behind from the kiss. “Where did that come from?”</p><p>Not that she’d complain. Each time he kissed her, he looked at her with such full, adoring eyes that she got butterflies fluttering about her stomach.</p><p>Ryoma shrugged, taking her hand. His features softened with each glance towards her, making Kaede positively giddy. She squeezed his hand, her smile warming to match the sun.</p><p>“Just felt like kissing you; you looked really peaceful right then, closing your eyes like that.”</p><p>Kaede brushed her damp bangs aside with her free hand, and grimaced. Her hair stuck to her skin in an unpleasant way. “I’m really sweaty right now,” she commented.</p><p>“Yep. You really are.” When she made a face at him, Ryoma quirked a smile. “Doesn’t make you any less beautiful, though.”</p><p>She blushed, almost glad for the heat to disguise the rosiness in her cheeks.</p>
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<a name="section0116"><h2>116. {Momomatsu} Struggling in a poor type matchup</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: enchanted</p><p>I know the word isn’t actually in here, but I wanted to write pokemon AU and Ballonlea looks like a very enchanting place, right?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaede sighed, sitting on the steps of Ballonlea. One of the numerous glowing mushrooms in the village cast a blue glow over her Whimsicott’s cottony mane as her partner leaned against her arm. It only drew out another sigh from her.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, Flossy, I’m just kinda bummed out about losing again. I didn’t expect this gym to be so hard.” Kaede forced out a smile. “I promise… next time we’re gonna get it for sure!”</p><p>“Kaede? Hey what’s up!”</p><p>She jumped, startled by the familiar voice. Hastily she rubbed her eyes, just to ensure they had no tears to embarrass her, and held her uncertain smile as she lifted her face to greet Kaito.</p><p>“Hey! You really surprised me!” she said, feeling her cheeks hurt from keeping up her fake smile.</p><p>Kaito rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry. You looked pretty zoned out. Did you take on the gym yet? How’d it go?”</p><p>The direct question made the smile slip from her lips. She couldn’t pretend when he brought up the gym challenge himself. Kaede looked away, petting Flossy’s mane for the sake of having something to do with her hands.</p><p>“It didn’t…” she said. “I’ve tried twice already, and I only just barely got to the leader each time before she wiped my team.”</p><p>“Oh…” Kaito rubbed the back of his head, the sympathetic frown on his face making Kaede feel all the more embarrassed. “I’m sorry that sucks, but hey, at least you can try as many times as you’d like, right?”</p><p>Kaede scrunched her face. “I’m starting to think I’ll never get it and the gym challenge will end, and who’ll endorse me <em>next </em>time?”</p><p>Flossy, sensing her increased agitation, whined, hopping up into Kaede’s lap so that she got a face-full of fluff. She sputtered, pushing it down so she could see over the top of her pokemon’s head. “Flossy, please…”</p><p>She found it hard to feel mad, however, when the whimsicott clearly only wanted to cheer her up. She wrapped her arms around him.</p><p>“So yeah, that’s how it’s going.”</p><p>“Hey, I know you’ll get it eventually, keep your chin up!” Kaito said, grinning at her. “Remember all the times you kicked my ass when we fought on the way here? You’re crazy strong, and if I can defeat this gym–and I <em>will</em> defeat it–then I know you can too!”</p><p>Despite her doubts, Kaede found herself smiling at Kaito’s boundless optimism.</p><p>“Thanks… I really appreciate that,” she said, although she didn’t yet feel that determination return to her.</p><p>“No problem, you got this, Kaede! So you better not give up or I’m going to come right out here and drag up back into that gym until you do win!”</p><p>Kaede laughed at the threat. Nudging Flossy off of her lap, she finally stood back up. “Right, can’t give up now, the season’s not over yet. Right Flossy?”</p><p>Her whimsicott cheered, tossing cotton balls like confetti. Well… hopefully the wind blew those away before anyone accused them of littering.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0117"><h2>117. {Oumaede} A shadow of the past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Shadow</p><p>I only ever write fantasy AUs sorry.</p><p>(The idea is that Kokichi can see ‘shadows’ of the past left behind on certain objects. That might not be entirely clear here. Makes buying used stuff a pain, I bet.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yard sales always drew Kaede in, and when she caught sight of a piano sat right there, she had to check it out. She grabbed Kokichi’s arm, dragging him over despite his complaints, promising to be only a few quick minutes. After all, she didn’t want to <em>buy</em> the piano, but she couldn’t help but want to be near it.</p><p>“Are you really selling this? It still looks like it’s in great condition; almost new, even,” Kaede asked the owner, after fawning over it for more than a few minutes.</p><p>The owner only shrugged his shoulders, giving the piano an unreadable look. “Just doesn’t fit the house anymore. Want to get rid of it, maybe make a bit of my money back.”</p><p>Kaede hummed sympathetically. Although the man didn’t look too put out by it, the thought of separating from a beloved piano broke her heart. “That’s too bad. When I was a kid, I finally destroyed my first toy piano after playing it to death. I cried so much after that, it was bad.”</p><p>She ran her hand over the smooth surface and sighed wistfully. If only she had the money to buy a piano, or the ability to carry it home. Not that she <em>needed</em> it, but…</p><p>“Kokichi what do you think?” she asked. “Isn’t it beautiful?”</p><p>She waited. A couple beats passed, however, with no response. Not even the light-hearted complaints that she’d expect. Hand still on the piano, Kaede pulled her eyes away from the piano to see what had Kokichi so silent.</p><p>His expression made her blink. He stared at the piano bench that was shoved haphazardly against the front of the piano, at a spot that looked completely mundane to Kaede. Her heart dropped into her stomach, though, realizing what he was looking at.</p><p>“Kokichi?”</p><p>He didn’t answer, touching the bench. His eyes widened, sucking in a sharp breath.</p><p>She grabbed his wrist, yanking him away. “Kokichi!”</p><p>He blinked rapidly, and some color returned to his pale face. “Oh…” he breathed, evidently not still entirely present.</p><p>“Are you ok? Did you…” Suddenly aware of the stranger nearby, she lowered her voice. “…See something?”</p><p>A beat passed, before Kokichi’s face warped with a huge, forced smile. Still visibly shaken, he giggled and grabbed Kaede’s hand. His hand was trembling.</p><p>“Of course! I saw you and me on a really fun totally not boring date,” he chirped, moving away from the piano–and the man–and tugging Kaede along with him. “Like, way far away from here, right now.”</p><p>He didn’t even look at the man as they left, leaving Kaede to bid him a quick goodbye as Kokichi dragged her away. While her heart was heavy with the regret of leaving behind that piano, Kokichi’s reaction to it completely overshadowed that feeling. Anxiety rose in her chest.</p><p>When they’d gotten some distance, she asked again, “What did you see? Did that man do something?”</p><p>The faux-cheer wiped from Kokichi’s face. Without a smile, he looked sweaty and ill. He shook his head, squeezing Kaede’s hand.</p><p>“You don’t wanna know. Trust me.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0118"><h2>118. {Irumaki} The calm on the surface when walls fall away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: nap</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miu pushed her chair back from her worktable, stretching her arms above her head. Her back popped, bringing out a sigh of relief as she lowered her hands back to the tabletop. She’d lost track of time completely, as she often did while working. Vaguely she remembered her girlfriend coming in to see how long she’d be.</p><p>Oh shit.</p><p>It all came back to her. Maki asking how long she’d be, Miu telling her just a few minutes longer, then Maki saying she’d wait out in the living room for her to be finished. And that was–Miu glanced at her phone–about three hours ago.</p><p>She rushed to put her things away, leaving various machine parts scattered across the table in a vague semblance of a pile and sweeping her papers into her ‘design basket’. She doubted Maki was still waiting for her, of course, but she simultaneously felt hopeful and guilty that she might. Still, once she (sort of) cleaned up, Miu made her way for the living room to check.</p><p>Maki had fallen asleep on the couch. She hadn’t laid across it, merely slumped over to the side with the clear intention to only rest her eyes as she waited for Miu, arms crossed on the armrest to pillow her head. The guilt tugged at her chest, but the sight of Maki’s smooth, peaceful sleeping face swept that away. The usual frown lines in her forehead had been smoothed out, her hard expression softened by sleep, though partially obscured by her hair.</p><p>In her sleep, Maki looked soft and vulnerable in a way that she never allowed herself to be in conscious moments. Miu’s heart skipped a few beats, and for a solid thirty seconds, she forgot how to breathe.</p><p>She couldn’t help herself. Unwilling to ruin the moment of peace, Miu joined Maki on the couch, breathing softly as she leaned against her sleeping girlfriend. At one point, even that much would’ve sent Maki into the defensive, jolting her awake and ready to face a threat. Now, however, she murmured soft nonsense out in her sleep, hardly stirring otherwise before she relaxed again.</p><p>Miu’s pulse quickened, and she squirmed in her excitement.</p><p>It was incredible, essentially unthinkable, that a girl she’d once had such a tense relationship with when they first met, could make her feel this way. Just by being asleep next to her.</p><p>She closed her eyes, a goofy smile tugging at her lips. Just for a few minutes, she would enjoy this closeness. Then, she’d wake Maki and the both of them would go to bed.</p><p>Yeah, that sounded good. Just for a few minutes.</p><p>Within seconds, Miu had fallen completely asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0119"><h2>119. {Platonic Kaede+Kurochi} Bonding over being disaster gays</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: starlight</p><p>Also mentioned: Kaede’s feelings for Miu, and Kurochi’s feelings for Jaden. Just a couple of hopeless gays having a moment.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>So many voices around overwhelmed him, so when he thought that no one would miss him, Kurochi slipped out of the party through the back door. Just for a little while, while he composed himself.</p><p>He didn’t expect to see Kaede outside as well.</p><p>“Oh, what’re you doing out here?” he asked, hand still resting on the closed door.</p><p>Kaede jumped a bit when he came out, but she smiled a moment later. Still she seemed nervous about something, twirling her hair around her finger. “Oh you know… just looking at the stars. They’re pretty, aren’t they?”</p><p>“Uh-huh, you can make up a better lie than that, right?”</p><p>He hadn’t meant to say it so bluntly, but all the people from the party inside had left him exhausted. Normally Kurochi would’ve liked to be a little more tactful than that. Kaede still laughed sheepishly, however, moving her hand to the back of her head.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess that was pretty bad,” she said. Growing still, she averted her gaze. “I… well I was thinking about confessing to someone… that I like them…”</p><p>“Miu, right?”</p><p>Kaede’s eyes widened and her mouth popped open. “H-huh? H-how did you know?”</p><p>Kurochi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows.”</p><p>Red crept into her cheeks. “<em>Everyone</em>? Oh no…”</p><p>“You should tell her,” Kurochi said, feeling a little guilty for speaking so insensitively. “I think it’ll go well.”</p><p>“You think so…?”</p><p>“Yes.” He nodded. “She definitely likes you back, she just doesn’t know how to talk about it, you know? Trust me.”</p><p>Kaede didn’t answer right away. She looked down at the ground, the blush in her cheeks deepening as she thought about what Kurochi told her.</p><p>Then, raising her eyes to meet his again, she said, “Y-yeah. Yeah, I will. Thanks, Kurochi. I’m going back inside to tell her right now.”</p><p>Kurochi smiled, though he didn’t see what he really did worth thanking. “Good luck. You got this.”</p><p>She smiled, stepping past him to the door. He moved his hand away so that she could open it herself. “Totally. After I do this, then you definitely have to confess to your crush, too, got it? I can tell it’ll go well for you too.”</p><p>Kurochi’s cheeks suddenly felt hot, even though he had no idea what Kaede was talking about. “What? I-I don’t like anyone! Not like that…”</p><p>And yet, despite meaning it, Jaden’s face popped into his mind. Flushing deeply, he quickly shook it away. That was his <em>friend</em>; they just happened to be close. There was nothing more special about it.</p><p>Kaede laughed, shaking her head.</p><p>“Come on, you can lie better than that, right?” she said, and slipped back into the party before Kurochi could make up a response other than useless sputtering.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0120"><h2>120. {Jadochi} Hot chocolate kisses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hot cocoa, kisses, and jadochi</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaden poured some of the cocoa into a mug, handing it off to Kurochi with a light nod. Kurochi beamed and stopped kicking his feet against the cabinets beneath the counter he sat on. He leaned forward to accept the cocoa.</p><p>“Yay, it’s ready?” he asked, excitement glimmering behind his eyes.</p><p>Jaden smiled and nodded. He leaned back against the opposite counter, to wait for Kurochi to take the first sip before he poured his own. Ever since Miu created those tablets to temporarily allow the twins to taste, he took infinite pleasure in watching Kurochi enjoy all manner of food and drink that he’d missed out on before. One such thing was Jaden’s cocoa recipe, something that his sister had taught him and which he perfected. He was proud of it, and happy to finally share it with his boyfriend.</p><p>Although anxiety rolled in his gut beneath his anticipation. He desperately hoped that Kurochi would indeed enjoy it.</p><p>Kurochi brought the mug to his lips, blowing to cool its contents. His face briefly disappeared behind the rim as he drank–and he moaned in appreciation of its taste.</p><p>He tried not to let the sound affect him too deeply.</p><p>When Kurochi pulled the mug away, a chocolate ‘stache’ had smeared above his upper lip. Jaden covered his mouth with his hand, snickering until Kurochi wiped it away.</p><p>Kurochi set the mug down and held his arms out to him. Happy to take the silent invitation, Jaden slipped into his arms, resting against the counter in between his legs. He felt Kurochi’s heels resting against his back, naturally nudging him in closer.</p><p>They shared a languid kiss, Kurochi drawing his face in close to bring their lips together. His mouth was hotter, from the recent drink, and tasted sweet, a little sticky from the chocolate. A soft noise reminded Jaden of Kurochi’s moan and he shivered. Heat pooled in his gut as an unintended effect of the cocoa.</p><p>When they pulled apart, Kurochi left his arms draped around Jaden’s shoulders. He returned the embrace by bracing his forearms on the counter, to either side of Kurochi’s hips, virtually erasing any space between them.</p><p>Jaden tilted his head back with a soft smile, basking in the warmth of his boyfriend’s glowing grin.</p><p>“I think that was the best thing I’ve ever tasted yet, Jay.”</p><p>The compliment made Jaden’s smile grow; he allowed as little room as possible grow between them to sign in response.</p><p>“Yes. I could definitely tell that.”</p><p>Only Kurochi could make drinking hot cocoa sound so downright sinful.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0121"><h2>121. {Jadochi} Kiss without motive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Jadochi + "kiss without a motive"</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurochi came back from the bathroom, with Jaden in the exact spot where he’d left him. Quiet concentration held his attention down on the tablet in his lap, burrows furrowed from the small amount of tension unconsciously held in his face.</p><p>He didn’t look up as Kurochi rejoined him on the couch, folding his legs beneath him as he sank down into the cushions. A soft smile touched on Jaden lips as he leaned his shoulder against his, a brief respite from the tightened features of his face. Although his smile had faded soon after, the unconscious reaction to their touch brought warmth to Kurochi’s chest.</p><p>His expression warmed, unable to pull his eyes from Jaden’s face, an immeasurable amount of affection welling up behind them. He reached across Jaden, laying a hand against his cheek with gentle pressure. Just as a flicker of recognition sparked in his eyes, he leaned in to place a kiss against Jaden’s cheek closest to him.</p><p>When he pulled back, Jaden’s face followed, turning towards him. Kurochi’s lips broke into a goofy, beaming grin.</p><p>He leaned in again, greedy in taking another kiss, this one from his boyfriend’s own lips. Jaden smiled against his mouth before their second kiss could end, lifting his hand to thread through Kurochi’s hair, warm palm pillowing his cheek just as they broke apart again.</p><p>Kurochi melted into the touch, sighing contentedly at their closeness. And then Jaden drew him in for a third, and from their Kurochi lost track of time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0122"><h2>122. {Oumota} A quick escape from plunging panic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Oumota + "kiss in relief"</p><p>Kokichi sees someone unexpected and terrifying, but Kaito is quick to help him get away.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Petrified, Kokichi’s mind blanked out on him. His usual quick wit, clever plans, they failed him in the instant it took for him to recognize that person. On the edge of that empty expanse within his brain, he felt the forewarning rumbles of panic scratching at his mind.</p><p>He couldn’t react, couldn’t lie, couldn’t hide, no matter how much he wanted to.</p><p>A hand grabbed his sleeve. Kaito yanked him from his frozen state–physically and mentally–and hauled them both through a doorway. The door shut and plunged them both into darkness, leaving Kokichi to blink rapidly until his eyes could adjust, pulled against Kaito’s firm, unyielding chest.</p><p>“Wh–?” Kokichi began to question, but ultimately failed, still grasping for any coherent thought.</p><p>Kaito said nothing. A couple minutes passed, giving Kokichi the time for his mind to catch up with the situation. Movement resumed in his body, in the form of tremors, just as he realized how close he’d gotten to <em>that person</em> seeing him. Kaito had reacted first, of all people.</p><p>The thought made him want to laugh.</p><p>“Goddammit, Kokichi,” Kaito whispered from above him, “if there’s someone you’d rather avoid, you gotta say something beforehand.”</p><p>Something about his voice gave Kokichi’s back to him. He did start to laugh, giggles tinged with hysteria bubbling up from his throat. Still shaking, still laughing, Kokichi pushed away from Kaito just enough to look up at him. His eyes had adjusted to the dark of the closet that Kaito had hidden them in, enough so that he could see the concern in his expression.</p><p>The giggles faded.</p><p>“Y-you dumb–. You keep–.”</p><p>He couldn’t get anything out, his relief at being saved running up against inexplicable affection for the person who’d saved him. It was such a powerful mixture that he slumped back against Kaito’s chest, listening to his heartbeat until he could get his own to calm down.</p><p>Oddly enough though, something about having Kaito so close wouldn’t let his heartbeat slow down any.</p><p>“Kaito?” he began again, looking back up.</p><p>“Yeah?” Kaito gave him a questioning look.</p><p>Kokichi didn’t know how to explain the confusing combination of emotions the experience had brought him, and he didn’t think himself capable of playing it off in a casual way. He swallowed, before he forced himself not to think, and just ask, a weird neediness squirming in his chest, leftover from the mind-numbing fear he’d felt.</p><p>“Kiss me?” he asked. His mouth felt like it was full of sand.</p><p>Vaguely he wondered if his reaction had infected Kaito somehow, because when he obliged, he let out a shaky breath against his lips just before their mouths met.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0123"><h2>123. {Oumasai} Kisses don't heal on their own, but gentle and persistent love might help</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Prompt: Oumasai + "kiss on a place of insecurity"</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shuichi pushed the hem of Kokichi’s shirt up, brushing his lips over the sliver of exposed skin. A strangled noise escaped on Kokichi’s slow breath, hand coming to rest at the back of Shuichi’s head. Restless fingers fidgeted with his hair as the faintest shiver ran through Kokichi.</p><p>“Shu…” he began softly, obviously trying to disguise the apprehension in his voice.</p><p>He ran his thumbs over Kokichi’s hips. Although he wanted to, Shuichi didn’t push further. Instead he looked up to his boyfriend’s face, studying the hint of anxiety in his deep lilac eyes–if he looked, Shuichi could dig past the tight mask that Kokichi wore for his own protection, leaving him open and vulnerable to his observation.</p><p>And all the more anxious because of it.</p><p>“Should I stop?” he asked, pausing in the gentle motions of his thumbs as he waited for an answer.</p><p>Kokichi shook his head first, and answered only after several beats of silence.</p><p>“If you just… <em>gotta</em> kiss me like this, I guess I can’t really stop you.” Kokichi averted his eyes, clearly embarrassed. “You’re so… so <em>needy</em>, Shu.”</p><p>Shuichi dipped his head to plant an open-mouthed kiss against Kokichi’s stomach again, nudging his shirt further up with his nose. But he paused again shortly after, allowing the shirt to slip back down into place. On either side of his chest, trapped beneath his arms, Kokichi’s legs shifted restlessly, another exhale shuddered forth.</p><p>“<em>Can</em> I keep going?” he asked. He wasn’t going to let Kokichi get away with pushing away the responsibility of consent because he was too insecure about being direct.</p><p>They could play those games <em>after</em> and in between, not during.</p><p>Kokichi’s cheeks faintly reddened, a blush only detectable because Shuichi watched him so intently. After a few moments, he finally brought his gaze back to Shuichi’s–and his flush deepened.</p><p>“Yes… <em>yes</em>, keep going. I just…” Kokichi looked away. “I don’t see how you can like just… kissing and looking at me like this.”</p><p>Shuichi smiled warmly. He worked his way up the buttons of Kokichi’s shirt, leaving a trail of kisses up his torso as he went along, until he reached the last one and focused his attention across Kokichi’s collarbone, until Kokichi wrapped both arms around him, with knees pressing lightly into his ribcage.</p><p>“Just want to show you that I love you,” he murmured against Kokichi’s skin. “Every part of you, even if you don’t like them so much.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Finally got to the end of my archive. It's nice to see how much I wrote in each year (for Danganronpa anyway), and it's also fun to go back through and see words I don't remember writing at all.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please check out my tumblr, <a href="https://aroseandapen.tumblr.com/">aroseandapen</a>, for more fics, and to send in requests yourself.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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